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CIHIVI/BCIVIH 
Colleciion  de 
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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notoa/Notaa  tachniquat  at  bibliographlquaa 


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Tha  Inatltuta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  avaliabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibllographlcally  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
raproduction,  or  which  may  aigniflcaRtly  changa 
tha  uaual  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chackad  balow. 


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Colourad  covara/ 
Couvartura  da  co  jiaur 


r~1   Covara  damagad/ 


Couvartura  andommagia 

Covara  raatorad  and/or  iaminatad/ 
Couvartura  raataurte  at/ou  pailicul4a 

Cover  titia  mlaaing/ 

La  tKra  da  couvartura  manqua 

Colourad  mapa/ 

Cartaa  g^ographiquaa  wt  coulaur 

Colourad  inic  (i.a.  othar  than  biua  or  biacic)/ 
Encra  da  couleur  (i.a.  autra  qua  biaua  ou  noira) 


I     I   Colourad  plataa  and/or  illuatrationa/ 


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RalM  avac  d'autraa  documanta 


FTj    Tight  binding  may  cauaa  ahadowa  or  diatortion 


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La  re  liura  aarrte  paut  cauaar  da  I'ombra  ou  da  la 

diatortion  la  long  da  la  marga  IntMaura 

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appear  within  tha  taxt.  Whanavar  poaaibia,  thaaa 
hava  baan  omittad  from  filming/ 
II  aa  paut  qua  cartainaa  pagaa  blanchaa  aJoutAaa 
iora  d'una  raatauration  apparaiaaarit  dana  la  taxta, 
mala,  loraqua  cala  Atait  poaaibia,  caa  pagaa  n'ont 
paa  «t4  filmtea. 

Additional  commanta:/ 
Commantairaa  aupplAmantairaa; 


L'Inatitut  a  microfilm*  la  maillaur  axampiaira 
qu'l!  lui  a  6t4  poaaibia  da  aa  procurer.  Lea  d^taila 
da  cat  exemplaira  qui  sent  peut-Atre  uniquea  du 
point  de  vue  bibllographiqua,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dana  lu  mithoda  normale  de  fllmaga 
aont  indiqute  ci-daaaoua. 


|~n  Colourad  pagaa/ 


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Pagee  de  couleur 

gea  damaged/  . 
gea  andommagAea 

gea  reatorad  and/oi 
Pagaa  reataurAea  at/ou  pcilicuitea 

Pagaa  diacoiourad,  atalnad  or  foxe< 
Pagaa  dAcolortea,  tachattea  ou  piqutea 

Pagaa  detached/ 
Pagaa  dAtachAea 

Showthroughy 
Tranaparance 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  InAgaie  da  i'impraaaion 

includea  auppiamentary  materii 
Comprend  du  materiel  aupplAmentaira 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Mition  diaponible 


□  Pagaa  damaged/ 

I — I  Pagaa  raatorad  and/or  laminated/ 

ryll  Pagaa  diacoiourad,  atalnad  or  foxed/ 

I     I  Pagaa  detached/ 

I     I  Showthrough/ 

I     I  Quality  of  print  variea/ 

r~1  Includea  auppiamentary  material/ 

I — I  Only  edition  available/ 


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Pagaa  wholly  or  partlally  obacured  by  errata 
silpa,  tiaeuea,  etc.,  have  bean  refilmed  to 
enaur^  the  beat  poaaibia  image/ 
Lea  pagee  totalement  ou  partieilement 
obacurciea  par  un  feulllet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  At*  fllmies  dk  nouveau  da  fa^on  A 
obtenir  ia  meilleure  image  poaaibia. 


Thia  item  ia  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  eat  film*  au  taux  de  rMuction  Indlqu*  ci-deaaoua 

10X                            14X                            18X                           22X 

26X 

30X 

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12X 

16X 

20X 

24X 

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TtM  copy  film«d  h«r«  has  b—n  r«produc«cl  thanks 
to  ths  oanar'9sit>  of: 

HwoM  CampMI  Vaughan  Memorial  Library 
Aeadia  UnKranity 


L'axomplaira  filmA  f ut  raproduit  grica  i  la 
gAnArositift  da: 

Harold  Campball  Vaiighan  Msmorial  Library 
Acadia  Univanity 


Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  laglblllty 
of  tha  original  copy  and  In  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacif ications. 


Original  copies  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  filmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriate.  All 
othar  original  copias  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion,  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  imprassion. 


Tha  last  racordad  frama  on  aach  microficha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  — »•  (moaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (moaning  "END"), 
whichavar  appiias. 

IMaps..  platas,  charts,  ate,  may  ba  filmad  at 
diffarant  raduction  ratios.  Thosa  too  larga  to  ba 
antiraly  included  in  ona  axposura  ara  rilmad 
baginning  in  tha  uppar  laft  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Lea  images  suivantes  ont  M  raproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
da  la  nettet*  de  i'exempiaira  fiimA,  et  en 
conformiti  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  de 
fiimage. 

Lea  exemplaires  origlnaux  dont  la  couvarture  en 
papier  est  imprimie  sont  filmAs  en  commen^ant 
par  la  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  solt  par  la 
darnlAre  paga  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'imp/ession  ou  d'illustration,  solt  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  las  autres  exemplaires 
origlnaux  sont  fiimte  en  commen^ant  par  la 
pramlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'Impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  darnlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  dee  symboles  suivants  apparattra  sur  la 
darnlAra  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  seion  le 
cas:  la  symbols  — ^  signifie  "A  SUiVRE",  le 
symbols  y  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  Atre 
fiimte  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  il  est  film*  A  partir 
de  I'angle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  i  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenbnt  le  nombre 
d'Images  nAcessaira.  Les  diagrammes  suivunts 
illustrent  la  mAthoda. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

S 

6 

THE 


Calvary  Pulpit, 


CHRIST,  AND  HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


BY 


ROBERT  S.   MacARTHUR. 


FUNK   &   WAGNALLS. 


NEW  YORK : 
i8  &  20  AsTOR  Place.      '^^o 


LONDON : 

44  Fleet  Street. 


All  Rigkis  Reserved. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1890.  by 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Conpess  at  Washington.  D.  r. 


^  M  ^ 


^53-5 


CONTENTS. 


PAOB 

Paul's  Determination  at  Corinth . . . ., 7 

The  Crude  Cake 28 

Zealous  SERViCE  for  God 43 

The  Seven  Overcomeths— 1 59 

The  Seven  Overcomeths— II 71 

Christ  a  Living  Stone 83 

Not  Weary  in  Well-Doing 93 

Sad  Sowing— Glad  Reaping 103 

Victorious  Young  Men 116 

A  Comprehensive  Prayer 129 

Our  Lord's  Mysterious  Sorrow 140 

The  Promise  op  the  Comforter 150 

Character  and  Destiny 161 

Future  Punishment—  What  ? 171 

Bands  of  Love 184 

Bearing  One  Another's  Burdens 197 

Human  Ministry  a  Divine  Gift 210 

Marvellous  Kindness  in  a  Strong  City 223 

The  Place  Too  Strait 236 

Reasons  for  Public  Worship 251 

Voicepul  Stones 268 

Prerequisites  to  Success 284 


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U, 


PEEFACE, 


With  a  few  exceptions,  tlio  sermons  in  this  volume 
were  preached  in  the  old  Calvary  Church  on  Twenty- 
third  Street,  and  most  of  them  in  the  earlier  years  of  the 
author's  ministry.  The  reason  for  limiting  the  selection 
to  this  period  is,  that  another  volume  containing  sermons 
preached  in  later  years,  and  some  of  them  within  a  few 
months,  will  soon  be  published. 

Not  without  reluctance  are  the  anniversary  sermons 
introduced  ;  but  it  was  the  earnest  wish  of  many  friends, 
both  of  the  earlier  and  the  later  ministry,  that  the  first 
sermon  of  the  pastorate  and  the  fourth  and  the  tenth 
anniversary  sermons  should  be  included.  The  last  two 
named,  it  was  thought,  apart  from  their  interest  to  the 
friends  of  the  church,  would  be  of  interest  in  wider 
circles,  because  of  their  discussion  of  some  methods  of 
church  work.  The  last  three  in  the  volume  were 
preached  in  the  new  church  ;  they  are  given,  as  is  also 
the  last  one  preached  in  the  old  church,  because  of  their 
relation  to  the  history  of  the  removal  from  the  old  to 
the  new  house  of  worship  and  field  of  labor. 

To  his  own  people,  dearer  to  him  than  any  words  may 
attempt  to  express,  these  sermons  are  affectionately  com- 
mended ;  and  to  them  and  to  all  others  with  the  fervent 
hope  and  sincera  prayer  that  they  may  honor  Christ  and 
advance  His  cause. 

The  Author. 

Calyaby  Baptist  Chxtrch, 

New  York,  December,  1889. 


CHRIST,  AND  HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


I. 


PAUL'S  DETERMINATION  AT  CORINTH. 

"  For  I  determined  not  to  know  anything  among  yon,  save  Jesns 
Christ,  and  Him  omoified."— 1  Cob.  2  : 2. 

It  is  said  that,  leading  to  an  Austrian  city,  there  is  a 
bridge  in  the  parapets  of  which  there  are  twelve  statues 
of  Christ.  One  statue  represents  Him  as  the  Sower, 
another  as  the  Shepherd,  another  as  the  Carpenter,  and 
another  as  the  Physician  ;  others  represent  Him  as  the 
Pilot,  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King  ;  and  still  others  repre- 
sent Him  in  yet  other  characters.  The  simple-minded 
country  people  coming  into  the  city  in  the  early  morning 
with  their  produce  for  the  market,  pause  and  pray  before 
Christ  the  Sower.  A  little  later,  the  artisan  on  his  way 
to  his  workshop  worships  Christ  the  Carpenter.  Later 
still,  when  the  sun  has  scattered  the  mists  of  the  morn- 
ing and  has  flooded  the  earth  with  his  supernal  splendors, 
the  invalid,  creeping  from  the  city  to  breathe  the  fresh 
air  of  the  country,  presents  his  morning  prayers  to  Christ 
the  Physician.  Doubtless,  there  is  much  of  superstition 
in  this  worship,  but  there  is  in  it  also  a  great  truth. 
Each  worships  the  Christ  who  is  nearest  to  himself — the 
Christ  who  best  interprets  his  own  thoughts  and  best 
supplies  his  peculiar  wants. 


8 


CHklST,    AND   II I M    CKUCIFIED. 


1  I 


It  is  the  glory  of  Clirist  that  IIo  can  be  everything  to 
everybody  tlie  world  over.  To-day  I  lift  before  yoa 
Christ,  and  Ilim  crucified.  This  is  the  view  of  Christ 
which  gives  significance  and  glory  to  all  other  represen- 
tations ;  it  is  the  one  which  so  engaged  the  whole  being 
of  the  apostle,  which  captivated  his  imagination,  con- 
trolled his  intellect,  and  constrained  his  heart.  Ir  all 
the  history  of  the  race  there  was  not  to  Paul  such  a  life 
as  Christ's,  and  in  all  the  life  of  Christ  there  was  no  such 
glory  as  that  which  gathered  round  His  cross. 

Sadly  Paul  leaves  Athens,  goes  forty-five  miles  and 
comes  to  Corinth.  This  famous  Grecian  city  was  situ- 
ated on  the  isthmus  which  joins  Peloponnesus  to  the 
mainland  of  Greece.  Horace  calls  it  **  bimaris" — on 
two  seas.  Corinth  was  the  natural  portage  from  the 
Ionian  Sea  on  the  west  to  the  -^gean  on  the  east.  Both 
the  Greeks  and  the  Romans  attempted  to  join  the  two 
seas  by  cutting  a  canal  across  the  isthmus,  but  owing  to 
the  rocky  character  of  the  country  the  effort  was  not  suc- 
cessful. By  an  ingenious  contrivance  galleys  were  carried 
across  on  trucks.  Corinth  had  two  harbors,  Lechoeum 
on  the  west  and  Cenchreie  on  the  east.  It  thus  became 
the  mart  of  Asia  and  Europe.  Its  ships  whitened  the 
seas.  Foreigners  crowded  its  streets.  Near  the  city  the 
Isthmian  games  were  celebrated.  These  games  attracted 
strangers  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  religion  of 
Corinth  was  debasing.  Venus  was  the  principal  deity, 
as  Diana  at  Ephesus  and  Minerva  at  Athens.  **  It  is  not 
for  every  one  to  go  to  Corinth"  became  a  proverb  which 
merchants  well  understood  as  referring  to  the  debasing 
worship  of  Venus.  Old  Corinth  became  subject  to  the 
Romans  146  b.c.  For  nearly  one  hundred  years  the  city 
lay  waste.  But  Julius  Csesar  sent  thither  a  colony  of 
freedmen  from  Rome,  and  soon  the  wealth,  splendor, 


PAUL'S    DETEUMINATIOX   AT   COUINTII.  0 

and  vices  of  ancient  Corinth  reappeared  in  the  new  city. 
It  was  to  this  new  city  that  Paul  came.  Corinth  has 
been  called  the  "  Paris  of  antiquity."  Wealth  abounded. 
Luxur^^  held  constant  carnival.  Vice  triumphed.  In 
the  name  of  the  holiest  instincts  of  the  soul  the  foulest 
sins  of  the  body  wero  committed. 

To  such  a  city  as  this  Paul  came.  Here  he  preached. 
Here  a  church  was  formed — a  church  to  wiiich  or  from 
which  Paul's  most  famous  epistles  were  written.  The 
Gospel  that  could  win  in  Corinth  can  win  anywhere. 
After  Paul  had  left  Corinth,  and  while  at  Ephesus,  in- 
telligence came  to  him  concerning  the  Corinthian  Church 
from  the  household  of  the  pious  Chloe,  and  also  from  an 
epistle  which  the  Corinthians  had  addressed  to  liim. 
The  painful  condition  of  things  thus  communicated  to 
him  led  him  to  write  this  epistle.  In  this  letter  he 
opens  to  us  his  heart.  Ho  is  a  hard-hearted  r  ai  who 
can  read  these  words  without  emotion.  As  wo  study 
them  we  can  feel  across  the  continents  and  the  centuries 
the  throb  of  that  great  heart  which  beat  in  the  bosom  of 
the  greatest  apostle.  Our  theme  this  hour  is  Paul's  de- 
termination at  Corinth. 


CHARACTERISTICS   OF   PAUI/S   DETERMINATION. 

1.  Let  us,  in  the  first  place,  notice  some  of  its  char- 
acteristics. It  was  a  deliberate  determination.  Some 
have  supposed  that  Paul  was  disappointed  alike  with  the 
methods  and  with  the  results  of  his  work  at  Athens. 
But  others  claim  that  his  sermon  there  was  an  admirable 
illustration  of  his  own  principle  of  being  all  things  to  all 
men  that  he  might  win  some  to  Christ.  The  latter 
would  make  his  determination  at  Corinth  refer  rather  to 
his  purpose  to  discard  all  mere  rhetorical  finish  and  ora- 
torical art.     It  is  also  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  his  ser- 


10 


CHRIST,    AND  HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


i 


I    i 
I 


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1 1 


mon  at  Athens  was  never  completed.  He  had  just  begun 
to  speak  of  the  resurrection  and  the  judgment  when  the 
interruption  came.  To  say  that  he  made  a  mistake  at 
Athens  involves  difficult  questions  of  inspiration.  No 
one  is  warranted  in  making  that  statement.  Neverthe- 
less, it  seems  to  me  that  there  is  in  the  text  an  undertone 
which  suggests  a  decided  contrast  between  the  method 
pursued  at  Athens  and  that  now  determined  upon  at 
Corinth.  The  word  used  hero  implies  that  his  determi- 
nation was  reached  after  much  reflection.  Paul  was  not 
a  man  who  would  rashly  come  to  a  conclusion.  Neither 
was  he  the  man  who  would  be  likely  to  abandon  a  posi- 
tion which  he  had  deliberately  taken.  That  resolution 
was  not  accidental.  In  that  great  and  sinful  city  of 
Corinth  he  deliberately  determined  to  know  and  to 
preach  only  a  crucified  Saviour. 

It  was  also  a  courageous  determination.  Paul  well 
l^new  the  fondness  of  the  Greeks  for  a  finished  rhetoric 
and  a  graceful  elocution  ;  he  also  knew  their  love  for 
philosophical  speculations.  He  gives  us  in  some  of  his 
epistles  indications  of  his  own  natural  fondness  for  ab- 
struse and  metaphysical  discussions.  He  well  knew  that 
such  discussions  would  attract  the  attention  and  awaken 
the  enthusiasm  of  his  audience.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
knew  that  his  chosen  theme  would  expose  him  to  the 
contempt  and  derision  of  his  critical  and  captious  hearers. 
Still,  he  had  the  courage  of  his  convictions.  Addressing 
poets,  orators,  and  philosophers,  he  discoursed  not  of 
poetry  or  oratory  or  philosophy.  It  is  true  that  it  was 
Athens  which  was  called  **  the  eye  of  Greece,  mother  of 
arts  and  eloquence,"  and  that  Corinth  was  especially 
noted  as  a  great  meircantile  city.  Still,  Cicero  calls  Cor- 
inth, because  of  her  intellectual  attainments,  "the  light 
of  all  Greece."     Paul  knew  how  a  Jew  would  be  de- 


.Jist- 


viL 


PAUL'S   DETERMINATION  AT  CORINTH. 


11 


Bpised  by  the  Greeks.  Physically  and  mentally  they 
were  Pharisees  ;  they  despised  all  others  as  barbarians. 
They  were  the  favored  sons  of  sunny  Greece  ;  and  Paul 
comes  to  speak  to  them  of  a  Jew  who  was  crucified  by 
His  countrymen  as  a  felon.  I  tell  you,  friends,  that  was 
grit,  that  was  grace,  that  was  pluck,  that  was  piety. 

"We  still  speak  of  the  offence  of  the  cross  ;  but  wo 
oftener  speak  of  its  glory.  How  its  meaning  has  changed 
since  Paul  preached  at  Corinth  !  Then  it  was  to  his 
hearers  what  the  gibbet  or  the  gallows  would  be  to  an 
audience  to-day.  Behold  the  transformation  !  Poetry 
with  unfadiTig  garlands  now  decks  the  cross  ;  sculpture 
honors  it ;  architecture,  in  noblest  cathedral,  copies  its 
form  ;  painting  sits  before  it  until  its  heavenly  light 
illumines  the  canvas ;  genius,  in  every  department  of 
thought  and  activity,  has  found  its  highest  glory  in  plac- 
ing the  diadem  on  the  brow  of  the  Crucified.  To-day 
many  of  you  bear  the  image  of  Christ  and  Him  crucified 
in  your  deepest  souls.     You  have  just  sung 

"  In  the  cross  of  Christ  I  glory, 

Towering  o'er  the  wrecks  of  tiuie." 

That  song  expresses  the  deepest  joy  and  the  highest 
glory  of  millions  on  earth  and  in  heaven.  At  this  very 
hour,  I  doubt  not,  some  of  you  would  rise  from  these 
seats,  walk  to  that  street  and  lay  your  heads  upon  the 
block  rather  than  deny  Him  who  once  hung  on  that 
cross.  Oh,  brave  Paul  I  Our  hearts  catch  the  enthusi- 
asm of  thy  courageous  determination.  How  men  in  our 
day  ought  to  blush  who  are  ashamed  of  Jesus.  A  man 
who  is  ashamed  of  his  Christian  principles  is  a  man  of 
whom  his  Christian  principles  have  cause  to  be  ashamed. 
Oh,  for  the  lofty  courage  of  Paul's  noble  determination  ! 

But  it  was  also  an  intelligent  determination.  Paul 
was  a  student  of  history.     He  was  not  a  narrow  man. 


12 


CHRIST,    AND  HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


If  he  was  a  man  of  one  idea,  as  some  have  said,  it  was 
an  idea  so  broad  that  it  inchided  all  true  and  noble  ideas. 
He  was  a  cosmopolitan  man.     The  truth  that  flashed  upon 
him  as  he  journeyed  toward  Damascus  enabled  him  to  in- 
terpret the  Old  Testament  in  the  light  of  the  cross.     He 
saw  that  all  the  ways  of  God's  revelation  converged 
toward  and  met  in  the  cross.     He  saw  that  if  you  take  it 
away,  the  Old  Testament  is  meaningless.     He  saw  that 
the  cross  is  the  centre  of  the  Bible.     It  is  more,  and 
thoughtful  men  in  our  day  are  beginning  to  recognize 
the  fact :   It  is  the  pivotal  point  around  which  all  the 
events  of  the  world's  history  revolve.     *'  All  the  light 
of  "  secular  as  well  as  "  sacred  story  gathers  round  its 
head  sublime. "     All  the  centuries  before  Christ's  com- 
ing prepared  for  that  coming  ;  all  the  centuries  since 
expand  and  illustrate  the  significance   of   His  advent. 
Christ  is  King.     All  events  of  history  previous  to  His 
death  converged  toward  the  cross  ;  all  events  since,  have 
diverged  from  it.     The  cross  stood  at  the  confluence  of 
three  streams  of  civilization.     The  superscription  on  it 
was  written  in  three  languages  :  Hebrew,  the  language 
of  religion  ;  Greek,  the  language  of  culture  ;  Latin,  the 
language  of  law.     A  marvellous  blending  of  these  three 
varieties  of  national   life  prepared  for  the  spread  of 
Christ's  kingdom.     Are  you  a  student  of  history  ?    You 
must  *'  build  yonr  studio  on  Calvary."     Nations  flourish 
and  decay,  kingdoms  rise  and  fall,  but  amid  all  changes 
the  student  will  see  **  Jesus  only."     As  well  might  a 
man  attempt  to  write  a  text-book  on  astronomy  and  re- 
fuse to  recognize  the  sun,  as  write  a  history  of  this  world 
and  leave  out  Jesus  Christ.    Christ  is  the  Sun  of  the  moral 
universe,  and  ar-  und  Him  all  events  evolve.     The  dis- . 
ciple  of  truth  will  find  Christ  everywhere.      Perhaps 
Hugh  Miller  went  too  far  when  he  claimed  that  he  found 


liii 


PAUL*S   DETERMINATION   AT   CORINTH. 


13 


the  cross  in  the  lioary  rocks.  But  we  are  sure  that  the 
true  student  of  history  will  see  it  as  the  crowning  glory 
of  every  century.  He  will  see  along  the  track  of  the 
ages  the  footprints  of  the  Son  of  God.  Paul  thus  saw 
the  glory  of  Jesus.  To  see  it  was  the  master-passion  of 
his  master-mind. 

Well  might  Paul  determine  as  he  did.  His  decision 
heightens  our  admiration  for  the  clearness  of  his  intellect 
as  well  as  for  the  tenderness  of  his  heart.  I  ask  no  favors 
for  him.  Judge  him  in  the  clear  light  of  this  nineteenth 
century.  His  determination  will  bear  the  test.  He  was 
a  man  of  brains  ;  he  had  that  most  uncommon  kind  of 
sense  which  we  call  common  sense  ;  he  was  true  as  brave 
and  brave  as  true.  Come  on,  ye  philosophers  of  history, 
will  ye  measure  swords  with  this  man  ?  We  may  say  of 
the  noble  Paul  what  Dr.  Schaff  says  of  the  great  Nean- 
der :  He  was  "  a  child  in  spirit,  a  man  in  intellect,  a 
giant  in  learning,  and  a  saint  in  piety."  How  the  great 
God  who  sitteth  in  the  heavens  mnst  laugh  at  the  weak- 
ness and  wickedness  of  men  in  denying  His  presence  and 
opposing  His  power  in  the  world  He  has  made. 

Men  have  thought  they  could  hew  down  His  cross  and 
dethrone  the  Lord  of  glory.  They  have  thought  they 
could  overturn  the  Kock  of  Ages.  They  shall  learn  that 
*'  the  grass"  of  sceptical  philosophy  ^'  withereth,  and 
the  flower"  of  infidel  oratory  "fadeth,"  but  the  word 
of  our  God  shall  stand  forever.  We  commend  Paul's 
deliberate,  courageous,  and  intelligent  determination  to 
know  only  Christ,  and  Him  crucified. 

THE   MEANING   OF    PAUL's   DETERMINATION. 

2.  Notice,  in  the  second  place,  the  meaning  of  Paul's 
determination.  Can  we  get  the  sweet  kernel  out  of  his 
stirring  words  ?    Christ's  matchless  Person  and  redemp- 


:,: 


!<' 


i» ' 


!  1 

it 


14 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


tivo  work  were  Paul's  theme  as  here  expressed.  Let  us 
look  more  closely. 

He  preached  the  humanity  of  Christ.  By  the  mystery 
of  the  incarnation  Jesus  Christ  became  the  Son  of  man. 
He  had  to  assume  the  nature  which  He  came  to  redeem. 
He  said  of  Himself,  '^  a  body  hast  Thou  prepared  Me." 
He  took  upon  Himself  the  form  of  a  servant ;  He  liter- 
ally emptied  Himself.  He  came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for 
many.  We  stand  by  the  cradle  in  Bethlehem  and  re- 
member that  He  whose  arm  upholds  the  nnivei'se  was 
once  Himself  borne  upon  a  woman's  arm.  He  was  a 
true  man.  Christ  did  not  lay  hold  of  the  nature  of 
angels.  He  came  to  save  men,  and  if  He  would  lift  our 
poor  fallen  nature  He  must  put  Himself  beneath  it.  We 
need  a  living,  loving,  divine-human  Redeemer.  The 
heart  cries  out  for  a  Saviour  so  near  us  as  to  win  our 
tenderest  love  ;  and  yet  a  Saviour  so  far  above  us  as  to 
command  our  highest  reverence.  The  soul  needs  just 
such  a  Saviour  as  was  Jesus.  It  can  know  no  true  rest 
until  it  can  repose  on  His  bosom.  Christ  was  more  than 
a  man — He  was  Man.  He  was  the  head  of  a  new  race. 
All  the  virtues  of  woman  and  all  the  nobilities  of  man 
are  in  Him.  I  stop  not  to  prove,  in  any  formal  way, 
the  humanity  of  Christ.     We  all  accept  it  as  true. 

But  we  need  to  make  more  of  this  truth.  We  have 
often  put  Christ  too  far  away  from  us.  Never  until  I 
was  in  my  last  year  in  the  theological  seminary,  did  I 
fully  feel  the  uplifting  power  of  Christ's  divine-human 
sympathy.  The  foundations  seemed  to  be  slipping  from 
beneath  me  ;  I  crie<5  with  an  intensity  of  desire,  born  of 
an  awful  fear,  and  aa  arm  mighty  as  God's  was  put 
about  me  ;  and  it  lifted  me  to  a  heart  tender  as  a  mother's. 
Some  enemies  of  the  truth  have  done  good  by  calling  at- 


Paul's  determination  at  couintii. 


15 


tentlon  to  Christ's  humanity.  His  lifo  has  been  vividly 
written.  Renan,  and  others  of  his  class,  can  be  cleavers 
of  wood  and  drawers  of  water  for  Christ's  servants.  The 
places  Jesus  visited  have  been  graphically  described. 
He  has  been  called  out  of  the  shadows  of  time  and  dis- 
tance, and  made  to  appear  in  a  vivid  historic  reality. 
Writers  of  this  class  have  done,  perhaps  unintentionally, 
great  good.  **  The  man  Christ  Jesus"  touches  our 
hearts  with  tenderness  and  inspires  them  with  hope. 
The  proper  presentation  of  this  truth  is  the  only  antidote 
to  some  errors  which  have  grown  out  of  its  suppression. 
How  shall  you  prevent  the  mariolatry  of  the  Romanist  ? 
That  ho  does  worship  Mary  cannot  be  denied.  In  Rome 
tD-day,  she  is  placed  far  above  Jesus  Christ.  Shall  you 
denounce  her  and  her  worship  ?  You  will  by  so  doing 
only  multiply  her  champions  and  worshippers  ;  and  you 
will  also  be  false  to  fact,  for  she  was  a  true  and  noble 
woman.  Shall  you  summon  to  your  aid  reason  and 
Scripture  ?  Yes,  and  you  can  readily  show  that  there  is 
not  a  passage  in  the  Bible  which  can  fairly  be  quoted  as 
favoring  her  worship.  But  the  devout  Romanist  will 
still  continue  his  worship.  What  shall  you  do  ?  This  : 
preach  Christ  in  all  the  fulness  and  glory  of  His  divinity 
and  humanity.  Where  Christ  is  not  so  preached  Mary 
embodies  a  tender  thought  and  supplies  a  real  want  in 
the  human  soul.  In  heathenism  physical  power  was 
everything ;  moral  purity  was  nothing.  Christ  intro- 
duced a  new  thought.  He  taught  that  purity  is  power, 
meekness  might,  and  gentleness  greatness.  These  were 
womanly  virtues.  Mary  came  to  represent  them  ;  Mary 
came  in  process  of  time  to  be  worshipped.  We  must 
show  that  all  that  is  purest  in  woman  and  noblest  in  man 
is  found  in  Jesus  ;  that  He  meets  every  want  of  every 
soul.     We  must  learn  that  the  best  way  to  preach  down 


11 


I  fl 


16 


CHRIST,    AND   II IM   CRUCIFIED. 


I   1 


error  is  to  preach  up  truth.  Never  raise  Satan  unless 
you  are  sure  you  can  lay  him.  Never  throw  down  the 
gauntlet  to  him  unless  you  know  that  you  can  give  him 
a  deadly  lunge.  The  best  way  to  keep  out  the  plants 
of  error  is  to  fill  every  spot  of  the  soil  of  the  heart  with 
the  good  seed  of  the  kingdom.  To  keep  chaff  out  of 
the  measure  fill  it  with  wheat ;  then  let  the  wind  blow 
the  chaff  as  it  pleases.  The  great  mass  of  church-going 
people  have  learned  from  Christian  ministers  almost  all 
that  they  know  of  Darwin,  Huxley,  and  others  of  their 
class.  If  tlie  theories  of  these  men  are  demonstrated  to 
be  true,  we  shall  have  neither  need  nor  right  to  oppose 
them.  So  long  as  they  are  only  theories  what  is  the  use 
of  directly  opposing  them  ?  God  is  One  ;  truth  is  one. 
God  cannot  contradict  Himself.  Why  waste  time  on 
theories  ?  The  pulpit  has  something  better  to  do  than 
to  advertise  the  devil's  nostrums.  To  cure  error,  liber- 
ate truth.  Christ  not  only  proposed  to  give  Lazarus  life, 
but  liberty  also.  The  truth  must  be  loosed.  To  be  fair 
with  an  opponent,  you  must  state  him  cleanly.  Often 
the  statement,  being  largely  in  his  language,  is  clear  and 
strong;  often  the  refutation  is  obscure  and  weak.  The 
statement  is  remembered,  the  refutation  is  forgotten. 
The  valiant  knight  of  truth  often  succeeds  only  in  giving 
prominence  and  dignity  to  a  hitherto  unseen  and  perhaps 
unknown  foe.  We  have  paid  the  devil  too  much  re- 
spect ;  we  owe  him  nothing  but  contempt  and  disobedi- 
ence. As  preachers  we  cannot  know  everything  about 
everything  ;  but  we  ought  thoroughly  to  know  God's 
Word.  Let  us  fully,  fearlessly,  and  kindly  declare  it,  and 
victory  over  every  error  will  be  on  the  side  of  God's  truth. 
Oh  how  precious  it  is  to  think  of  the  manhood  of 
Christ !  He  was  the  only  person  ever  born  into  the 
world  who  had  His  choice  as  to  how  He  should  come, 


ti 


PAUL'S   DETERMINATION^   AT  CORINTH. 


17 


and 


and  He  clioso  to  come  as  a  babe  and  in  poverty.  He 
trod  the  lower  walks  of  life,  and  poverty  was  dignified. 
He  became  a  babe,  and  babyhood  was  glorified.  He 
lived  as  a  boy,  and  boyhood  was  forever  honored.  All 
the  conditions  of  life  into  which  He  entered  He  exalted 
and  sanctified.  On  the  cross  He  gave  a  young  man's 
life  for  the  world's  sin.  On  the  throne  to-day  Ho  sits 
with  the  dew  of  immortal  youth  and  the  glory  of  eternal 
manhood.  Once  He  suffered  ;  now  He  forever  will 
sympathize.  The  whole  race  is  ennobled  by  the  thought 
tliat  humanity  with  Divinity  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Majesty  on  high. 

Paul  preached  Christ's  Divinity  also.  A  man  cannot 
save  his  fellow.  However  exalted  Christ  might  be  as  a 
man,  He  would  still  be  helpless  to  save  a  soul  from 
death.  A  man  cannot  find  a  ransom  ;  a  man  cannot 
meet  the  claims  of  God's  law  ;  a  man  cannot  stand 
in  the  holy  place  ;  a  man  hath  not  clean  hands  and 
a  pure  heart.  The  Saviour  must  bo  God  as  well  as  man. 
Man  may  sympathize  ;  God  alone  can  save.  We  need 
both  the  humanity  and  the  Divinity  of  Jesus  Christ.  If 
you  deny  either,  you  contradict  Isaiah  when  he  speaks 
of  Christ  as  *' a  child  born,  a  son  given,"  and  at  the 
same  time  as  *  the  mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father, 
the  Prince  of  Peace."  John  distinctly  tells  us  that 
the  **  AVord  was  God,"  and  also  that  the  "Word  was 
made  flesh."  But  I  am  not  undertaking  to  prove  to 
you,  brethren,  His  Divinity.  This  is  not  necessary.  I 
am  simply  showing  how  in  harmony  with  this  view  are 
the  trend  and  spirit  of  Scripture.  Some  men  say  Christ 
was  good,  was  the  best  man  the  world  has  ever  seen,  but 
He  was  not  divine.  Out  of  their  own  mouths  such  men 
shall  be  convicted  of  inconsistency  and  stupidity.  Christ 
was  either  divine  or  He  was  not  a  good  man  ;  He  was 


>   I 


j 


18 


If 


ilfi 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


God,  or — can  we  eny  it  with  reverence  ? — He  was  an  un- 
pardonable egotist  or  a  hopeless  lunatic.  He  claimed  to 
be  divine  ;  He  was  put  to  death  because  of  that  claim. 
John  says  He  was  full  of  grace  and  of  truth  ;  but  if  not 
divine,  He  was  full  of  falsehood.  From  the  first  majes- 
tic words  of  Genetis  to  the  last  love-note  of  Revelation 
the  uniform  testimony  of  every  devout  heart  concerning 
Christ  is,  in  substance,  *' My  Lord  and  my  God." 
This  truth  fired  the  heart  of  Paul.  How  grandly  he 
bursts  forth  with  his  magnificent  doxology  :  "  Now  unto 
the  King  eternal,  immortal,  invisible,  the  only  wise  God, 
be  honor  and  glory  forever  and  ever.  Amen."  And 
let  all  the  people  say,  Amen  and  amen.  A  symmetrical 
Christ,  perfect  man  and  perfect  God,  is  the  need  and  is 
the  hope  of  the  world. 

But  Paul  preached  Jesus  ChriBt,  and  Him  crucified  ; 
he  recognized  the  expiatory  character  of  Christ's  atone- 
ment. This  glorious  doctrine  is  the  very  pith  and  mar- 
row, the  warp  and  woof,  the  very  heart  of  the  whole 
Bible.  This  doctrine  has  always  been  an  offence  to 
some  opposers,  to  the  Jews  it  was  "  a  stumbling-block  ;" 
to  the  Greeks  it  was  **  foolishness."  Both  Jew  and 
Greek  have  their  representatives  still.  There  are  in 
our  day  those  who  regard  the  atonement,  considered  as 
a  propitiatory  sacrifice,  with  the  utmost  disfavor.  They 
deny  that  His  death  had  any  reference  to  the  satisfaction 
of  Divine  justice  ;  that  He  was  in  any  sense  the  sinner's 
Substitute  ;  that  He  did  anything  to  satisfy  the  claims  of 
God's  justice.  His  death,  they  claim,  was  due  to  man's 
wrath,  and  its  effect  is  simply  in  its  moral  influence  over 
us  by  His  self-sacrificing  example. 

That  Christ's  death  exercises  such  a  power  we  joyfully 
admit.  It  has  its  manward  side,  but  that  because  of  its 
Godward  side.     It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  while  God 


PAUL'S   DETERMINATION   AT  CORINTU. 


J9 


is  a  loving  Father  He  is  also  a  righteous  Judge.  God 
must  be  just ;  if  unjust  He  must  vacate  His  throne. 
What  is  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures  ?  They  affirm 
that  **  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  Him  ;"  that  **  He 
was  wounded  for  our  transgressions;"  that  "He  hath 
made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us  who  knew  no  sin,"  and  that 
"  Christ  suffered  for  sins,  the  just  for  the  unjust."  All 
God's  revelations,  in  symbol,  type,  and  prophecy,  declare 
with  trumpet-tongue,  that  **  without  shedding  of  blood 
there  is  no  remission  ; '*  and  the  glory  of  Jesus,  of  which 
the  redeemed  shall  ever  sing,  is  that  He  **  bare  our  sins 
in  His  own  body  on  the  tree."  The  man  who  will  deny 
that  these  Scriptures  teach  the  vicariousness  of  Christ's 
death  could  not  be  convinced  by  any  amount  of  scriptural 
authority.  The  true  view  gives  to  Christ's  self-sacri- 
ficing example  all  tlie  power  which  the  moral  influence 
theory  does,  and  it  also  satisfies  both  reason  and  faith  by 
giving  us  an  expiating  Saviour,  who  meets  the  claims  of 
God's  law,  and  thus  wins  the  homage  of  man's  love. 
To  preach  Christ,  and  Him  crucified,  then,  will  include 
all  the  marvellous  mystery  of  His  august  person,  the 
great  facts  respecting  His  spotless  life,  the  efficacy  of 
His  atoning  death.  His  triumphant  resurrection.  His 
glorious  ascension,  and  His  prevailing  intercession  ;  it  in- 
cludes our  pardon  and  peace  by  the  blood  of  His  cross, 
our  complete  salvation  in  Him  here,  and  our  blessed 
home  in  heaven  hereafter.  Here  is  enough  to  excite 
the  joy  and  exhaust  the  skill  of  the  highest  angel. 


THE  MOTIVE  OF  PAUL  8  DETERMINATION. 

8.  Let  us  look,  in  the  last  place,  at  the  controlling 
motives  of  the  Apostle's  determination. 

This  was  the  only  preaching  which  could  harmonize 
the  facts  of  Christ's  life.     Some  tell  us  that  Christ  grew 


ill 


20 


CHRIST,    AND   UIM  CRUCIFIED. 


sullen  and  morose,  toward  the  end  of  His  earthly  life  ; 
that  those  severe  denunciations  near  the  close,  contrast- 
ing in  so  marked  a  way  with  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
show  how  bitter  was  His  spirit  and  how  keen  was  His 
disappointment.  These  men  forget  that  Christ^s  con- 
versation with  Kicodemus  took  place  some  months  be- 
fore the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  In  that  conversation, 
He  distinctly  described  the  manner  of  His  death  ;  He 
distinctly  foretold  that  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent 
even  so  must  He  be  lifted  up.  In  that  conversation  He 
gave  us  the  fullest  statement  of  the  means  of  salvation 
which  ever  came  from  His  lips.  Nowhere  else  in  the 
gospels,  and  nowhere  in  the  epistles,  can  you  find  so 
clear  a  description  of  the  work  of  each  person  in  the 
blessed  Trinity  in  human  redemption.  It  is  true,  that 
until  a  little  time  before  His  death,  Christ  did  not  in 
public  discourse  plainly  allude  to  that  death,  and  there 
were  reasons  for  this  omission.  But  in  this  conversation 
with  Nicodemus  the  allusion  is  explicit.  Christ's  bap- 
tism was  also  a  symbol  and  prophecy  of  His  death  and 
resurrection.  The  cross,  gloomy  and  grand,  ever  lifted 
itself  before  His  mind;  that  He  should  die  on  that  cross 
was  one  of  the  ends  for  which  He  came  into  the  world. 
Now  Paul  saw  this.  He  always  meant  to  be  true  to  the 
Christ.  My  soul  has  ached  for  him  when  I  have  seen 
how  he  sinned  through  ignorance  of  the  true  Messiah. 
But  on  that  Damascus  highway  what  blessed  light  flashed 
upon  the  Old  Testament  teachings  of  the  Christ !  "What 
a  new  world  of  thought  and  feeling  was  revealed  to  him ! 
Now  he  sees  the  symmetry,  the  harmony,  the  glory  of 
the  truth.  He  sees  how  the  Sufferer  is  still  the  King  ; 
he  sees  that  the  way  to  the  throne  is  by  the  cross ;  he 
sees  that  he  who  would. reign  must  serve  ;  that  to  con- 
quer it  is  necessary  to  stoop  ;  that  lowliness  is  loftiness. 


ft*, 


it* 


PAUL'8   determination   at  CORINTH. 


21 


He  Bees  that  Christ  is  the  world's  Prophet,  Priest,  and 
King,  because  once  He  died  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  world's 
sin.  The  cross  was  His  throne — blessed  revelation  I 
Now  to  Paul,  Christ's  life  is  a  sublime  harmony.  So 
Paul  gloried  in  the  cross.  He  would  have  no  other 
glory.  On  earth  he  caught  the  lirst  notes  of  the  song 
which  ever  since  his  exaltation  he  has  been  singing  in 
heaven,  **  "Worthy  is  the  Lamb  which  was  slain." 

This,  we  remark  again,  was  the  only  preaching  which 
could  harmonize  the  attributes  of  God.  How  shall  we 
reconcile  the  apparently  contradictory  attributes  of  God  ? 
He  describes  Himself  as  exercising  loving-kindness,  and 
at  the  san:ie  time  as  inflicting  judgment.  He  is  at  once 
a  merciful  Father  and  a  righteous  Juuge  ;  a  just  God, 
and  yet  a  Saviour  ;  abounding  in  mercy,  and  at  the  same 
time  hating  iniquity.  This  is  the  true  character  of  God 
as  made  known  in  Scripture.  Men  have  erred  when 
they  have  taken  one-sided  views  of  God.  Some  regard 
Him  as  too  merciful  to  punish  sin  ;  others,  going  to  the 
other  extreme,  regard  Him  as  too  just  to  forgive  sin. 
The  result  is  that  while  one  class  presumptuously  ap- 
proach Him,  the  other  class  sink  hopelessly  into  de- 
spair. These  are  important  considerations.  In  the 
administration  of  human  justice  no  question  is  more  per- 
plexing than  that  of  granting  pardon.  If  never  granted, 
government  may  become  tyranny  ;  if  granted  often,  law 
becomes  only  advice.  A  law  without  a  penalty  is  not 
law  ;  it  is  only  advice.  Mercy  and  justice  cannot  always 
meet  in  the  human  judge.  The  human  judge  may  have 
to  condemn  his  own  son.  But  in  God  there  is  a  union 
of  all  perfections.  Only  as  He  is  seen  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ  can  He  be  rightly  known  ;  only  in  the  sac- 
rifice on  the  cross  can  the  mercy  and  justice  of  God  be 
seen  in  blessed  union.     In  the  cross,  God  shows  Himself 


■  i  >t-i 


M 


:i       > 

I    ! 


!  r 


I 


CHRIST,   AND  HIM   CUUCIFIRD. 

to  be  eminently  a  merciful  Saviour ;  there  He  shows 
His  hatred  of  sin  ;  there,  too,  He  shows  how  it  may  be 
forgiven.  It  is  the  glory  of  God  that  He  can  be  just, 
and  at  the  same  time  be  the  Justifier  of  the  believer  in 
Jesus.  He  can  preserve  the  honor  of  His  law,  and  yet 
extend  pardon  to  the  penitent.  The  harmony  of  these 
seemingly  inconsistent  attributes  gives  glory  to  the  cross 
of  Jesus.  It  lifts  God's  plan  of  redemption  above  all 
Imman  conception,  makes  it  a  constant  marvel  to  the 
angels,  and  gives  the  redeemed  in  glory  a  theme  for 
eternal  praise.  At  the  cross  the  beautiful  words  of  the 
Psalmist  have  their  sublime  illustration  : 

**  Mercy  and  truth  are  met  together, 
Bighteonsnesa  and  peace  have  kissed  each  other." 

Standing  beneath  the  cross,  we  remember  that  God 
spared  not  His  own  Son,  but  freely  gave  Him  up  for  us 
all ;  there  we  see  the  boundless  mercy  of  God.  Still 
standing  beneath  the  cross,  we  remember  that  it  pleased 
the  Lord  to  bruise  that  beloved  Son,  and  to  make  the 
iniquities  of  us  all  to  meet  upon  Him  when  He  took  the 
sinner's  place — there  we  see  the  inflexible  justice  of  God. 
In  the  cross,  these  glorious  attributes  meet.  Here  is  the 
atonement — the  **  at  onement,"  as  Bishop  Hall  and  other 
English  writers  once  wrote  it.  Around  the  cross  these 
glorious  truths  meet  in  eternal  harmony.  Here  let  us 
stand,  and  with  angels  and  glorified  spirits  sing,  "  O, 
the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowl- 
edge of  God  !  " 

Furthermore,  Paul  knew  that  this  was  the  only  preach- 
ing which  could  save  men.  This  truth,  had  saved  hira. 
He  had  the  testimony  of  personal  experience.  The  lion 
had  been  changed  into  the  lamb  ;  the  bitter  persecutor 
into  the  loving  disciple.     It  is  impossible  to  account  for 


PACI/S   DETF.UMIXATION'    AT   COnirTII. 


23 


that  change  if  the  power  of  this  truth  and  the  grace  of 
God  be  denied.  Almighty  grace  came  to  his  soul  ;  like 
the  walls  of  Jericho,  its  ramparts  fell  before  the  power 
of  God.  The  power  that  could  tame  him  could  subdue 
the  hardest  heart. 

With  undaunted  heart  we  stand  beside  the  cross  to-day. 
In  this  sign  we  shall  conquer  the  world.  An  uplifted 
Christ  is  still  the  mightiest  magnet  to  attract  the  hearts 
of  men.  That  cross  is  still  the  power  and  the  wisdom  of 
God.  Some  men  affirm  that  the  old  Gospel  is  losing  its 
power;  that  '*  modern  thought"  demands  a  modern 
gospel.  They  have  denied  that  the  Gospel  is  a  finality  ; 
they  have  invented  other  gospels.  But  what  is  new  in 
these  inventions  is  not  true,  and  what  is  true  is  not  new. 
They  have  tried  spiritualism,  and  it  has  proved  itself  to 
be  a  vulgar  cheat,  a  contemptible  fraud.  They  have  tried 
materialism,  and  it  has  proved  itself  to  be  what  Carlyle, 
in  his  coarse  way,  called  it,  ^*  a  gospel  of  dirt."  They 
have  tried  various  shades  of  liberalism,  but  negatives  are 
poor  food  for  hungry  souls.  They  have  tried  science. 
To  a  true  science,  religion  has  no  objections  to  urge. 
What  God  says  in  His  works  must  agree  with  what  He 
says  in  His  Word.  Genesis  and  geology,  when  each  is 
rightly  interpreted,  must  harmonize.  A  true  science 
will  lay  its  crown  at  Jesus*  feet.  Men  have  tried 
atheism.  They  would  dethrone  God,  and  they  would 
degrade  men  ;  but  God  refuses  to  be  pushed  out  of  the 
world  which  He  has  made.  One  scarcely  knows  whether 
most  to  pity  or  to  despise  these  false  teachers.  They 
certainly  excite  our  pity  ;  they  almost  justify  our  con- 
tempt. They  are  blind  in  the  gleaming  light  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Once  Thomas  Paine  boasted  in  the 
Broadway  Hotel,  in  New  York,  that  in  five  years  there 
would  not  be  a  Bible  in  America.     How  we  smile  at  his 


u 


CUltlST,    AND   IIIM   CRUCIFIED. 


1  i 


folly  !  Tho  day  will  come  when  the  defiant  predictions 
of  another  blatant  and  blasphemous  infidel  will  excite 
corresponding  pity  and  contempt.  The  pulpit  losing  its 
power  !  the  Bible  becoming  obsolete  !  The  pulpit  never 
was  so  mighty  a  power  as  it  is  at  this  hour.  The  Bible 
was  never  so  triumphant  as  it  is  to-day.  We  are  to-day 
witnessing  the  sublimest  sight  ever  seen  beneath  the  skies 
since  Christ  trod  this  earth.  The  whole  world  is  waiting 
on  bended  knees  and  with  bated  breath  for  the  Hevised 
Kew  Testament !  I  tell  you  that  as  a  Christian  man  1 
walk  with  my  head  among  the  stars.  The  highest  point 
of  human  greatness  men  ever  reach  is  when  they  bow  at 
the  feet  of  Jesus  Christ  and  take  Him  for  their  Lord  and 
God.  Away  with  the  devil's  nostrums  I  I  respectfully 
decline  to  be  orphaned  in  my  Father's  world.  We  want 
the  old,  old  Gospel — old  as  eternity,  and  new  as  the  last 
sunbeam  which  has  kissed  your  cheek.  ISTothing  but  the 
bread  of  heaven  can  feed  the  hungry  soul.  Nothing  but 
the  balm  of  Gilead  can  heal  the  heart's  sorrow.  Blessed 
be  God,  His  Gospel  will  never  lose  its  power  until  Satan 
is  crushed  beneath  our  feet,  and  Christ  is  worshipped  as 
Lord  of  all. 

SOME  LESSONS. 

Permit  me  to  suggest  a  lesson  or  two. 

What  Paul  preached,  w^e  should  believe — unconverted 
men  and  women  you  should  believe  it.  It  is  your  only 
hope.  Before  you  I  uplift  the  Crucified  One.  Here 
behold  the  grandest  display  alike  of  God's  justice  and 
love.  Look  and  live.  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  which 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  Ministers  of  Christ, 
you  should  believe  it.  You  will  be  shorn  of  your  power 
if  you  do  not.  Uplift  that  cross.  Display  that  blood- 
stained banner.     Teach  the  old  doctrines.     Do  not  apol* 


PAUL*S   DETERMINATION   AT  CORINTH. 


25 


ogize  for  God  :  declare  Him.  The  best  evidence  of 
Christianity  is  Christianity.  The  cross  is  its  own  wit- 
ness. The  Christian  minister  who  uses  his  position  to 
betray  his  Lord,  had  better  have  his  arm  paralyzed  at 
his  side  ;  had  better  have  his  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof 
of  his  mouth.  In  proportion  as  the  spirit  of  the  cross 
controls  every  thought  and  feeling  of  our  lives,  glistens 
in  the  eye,  trembles  in  the  voice,  and  is  felt  in  the  affec- 
tionate grasp  of  the  hand,  shall  we  be  successful.  Here, 
in  the  presence  of  God  and  His  people,  let  us  determine 
to  be  loyal  to  Christ's  Gospel  until  our  work  is  done  and 
our  reward  is  won.  Christ,  and  Him  crucified,  our 
theme  in  life,  our  watchword  in  death,  our  song  in 
heaven. 

Another  lesson  is  this  :  What  we  believe  we  should 
propagate.  Any  truth  that  is  worth  holding  is  worth 
propagating  by  the  printed  page  and  the  living  voice. 
No  argument  is  needed  to  convince  you  of  the  power  of 
the  press.  The  old  Homeric  heroes  are  represented  as 
standing  on  the  hill- tops  of  Greece  and  sending  out  their 
voices  into  its  clear  air  to  brother  heroes  seven  miles 
away.  The  press  is  the  hero  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
who  stands  by  the  mighty  Atlantic  and  sends  his  voice 
across  a  continent  to  the  mightier  Pacific  ;  sends  it 
around  the  world.  The  devil  shall  not  have  the  best  of 
everything.  The  discoveries  of  our  day  are  for  Jesus. 
When  good  Dr.  Warren  saw  a  ship  leaving  the  dock  at 
New  York,  with  a  group  of  missionaries  on  her  deck,  he 
said,  "  That  is  what  ships  are  made  for."  He  was  right. 
Steamships  and  railroads,  the  press,  the  telegraph,  the 
telephone,  are  all  for  Jesus.  **  Thine,  O  Lord,  is  the 
greatness,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  and  the  victory, 
and  the  majesty  ;  for  all  that  is  in  the  heaven  and  the 
earth  is  thine.     Thine  is  the  kingdom,  O  Lord,  and  thou 


I  m 


f 


20 


CHRIST,    AXD   HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


art  exalted  as  head  above  all."  Let  the  Assyrian  boas; 
of  the  number  that  he  cut  off.  What  was  the  Assyrian  i 
This  :  "  The  rod  of  God's  anger,  and  the  staff  of  His  in- 
dignation. "  Let  Cyrus  boast  of  the  mighty  work  that 
lie  accomplished.  How  did  he  do  it  ?  Thus  :  **  1  girded 
thee,"  God  says,  "though  thou  didst  not  know  me." 
**  The  Lord  reigneth  ;  let  the  earth  rejoice  ;  let  the  mul- 
titude of  isles  be  glad  thereof."  Jesus  is  King.  He  is 
laying  His  hand  on  the  discoveries  of  the  hour  ;  the  in- 
ventive genius  even  of  His  enemies  shall  contribute  to 
His  glory.  Man,  horse,  and  steamships  shall  carry  His 
truth  ;  telegraphs  shall  girdle  the  world  with  His  glory, 
and  telephones  shall  make  the  world  **  a  whispering- 
gallery"  with  His  praise.  When  the  pierced  hand  of 
Jesus  Christ  shall  be  laid  on  the  prtss  of  the  world  the 
first  rays  of  the  sun  of  millennial  day  shall  color  the  sky 
with  its  crimson  and  gold.  We  need  the  living  voice  of 
the  living  preacher  ;  nothing  can  surpass  that  instrumen- 
tality. We  need  also  the  printed  page  sent  out  as  leaves 
for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 

We  should  make  more  of  the  distribution  of  religious 
and  denominational  literature — books,  pamphlets,  and 
newspapers.  Every  convert  who  comes  iiito  our  church 
should  be  supplied.  There  ought  to  be  a  good  Baptist 
newspaper  in  every  family.  A  good  denominational 
paper  in  every  home  in  a  church  would  be  worth  more 
to  the  pastor  than  an  assistant  pastor. 

A  last  lesson  is  that  we  must  feel  a  personal  responsi- 
bility for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  You  cannot 
do  effective  work  for  Christ  at  long  ranges.  A  Roman 
youth  complained  to  his  father  that  his  sword  was 
too  short,  "  Add  a  step  to  it,"  said  the  father.  The 
Bible  is  the  '^  sword  of  the  Spirit."  To  use  it  well, 
you  must  come  into  close  quarters.     **  The  Autocrat  of 


If^* 


Paul's  determination  at  corixtii. 


27 


l^rHJ 


the  Breakfast  Table"  says,  "  "W3  are  the  Romans  of  the 
modern  world — the  great  assimilating  people.  And  so 
we  come  to  their  style  of  weapon.  Our  army  sword  is 
the  short,  stiff,  pointed  gladiua  of  the  Romans."  And 
he  adds,  **  The  race  that  shortens  its  weapons  lengthens 
its  boundaries.  It  was  the  Polish  lance  that  left  Poland 
at  last  with  nothing  of  her  own  to  bound."  He  then 
asks,  "  "What  business  had  Sarmatia  to  be  fighting  for 
liberty  with  a  fifteen-foot  pole  between  her  and  the 
breasts  of  her  enemies  ?"  It  will  not  do  for  us  to  fight 
our  Lord's  enemies  in  this  fashion.  "We  must  come  to 
close  quarters.  This  Christ  did.  The  warm  heart  of 
the  living  prophet  touched  the  cold  heart  of  the  dead 
boy.  You  rejoice  in  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  crucified 
Christ  which  Paul  preached  ;  let  others  share  your  joy. 
I  appeal  to  you  as  men,  as  Christians  and  as  Baptists,  as 
you  love  Christ  and  glory  in  His  cross  give  money  to 
send  the  men  who  shall  carry  the  good  news  to  the  per- 
ishing, so  that  the  dumb  may  sing  with  joy,  and  the  des- 
ert may  blossom  as  the  rose.  May  the  theme  of  *^  the 
matchless  Paul "  at  Corinth — Christ,  and  Him  crucified — 
be  our  glory  in  life,  our  hope  in  death,  and  our  song  in 
heaven  !     God  grant  it,  for  His  name's  sake.     Amen. 


.\i 


ii 


I 


H 


r 


r 


ii 


■' 


^■H 


II. 


i 


THE  CRUDE  CAKE. 

"  Ephraim  is  a  cake  not  turned." — Hosea  7:8. 

Ephbaim  was  the  second  son  of  Joseph,  hy  his  wife 
Asenath,  and  the  founder  of  one  of  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel.  His  birth  took  place  during  the  seven  years  of 
plenty,  it  is  generally  supposed.  Many  believe  that  the 
name  itself  contains  an  allusion  to  this  fact,  as  it  means 
"double  f ruitf ulness. "  Another  interpretation  finds 
the  meaning  -  of  the  name  in  the  growth  of  the  family 
itself.  Ephraim 's  elder  brother  was  Manasseh  ;  but,  as 
on  a  former  occasion  in  the  family,  the  younger  was  to 
rule  over  the  elder.  That  destiny  was  first  indicated  in 
the  blessing  of  the  children  by  Jacob,  their  grandfather. 
The  old  man's  eyes  were  dim,  so  that  he  could  not  see. 
Joseph  so  arranged  his  sons  that  Jacob's  right  hand 
should  give  its  richer  blessing  as  it  was  laid  on  the  head 
of  Manasseh.  But  either  by  the  will  of  God  or  the  wish 
of  Jacob,  or  both,  it  was  otherwise  ordered.  Jacob  was 
himself  a  younger  son  ;  his  sympathies  are  now  with 
Ephraim.  A  second  time  in  this  family  the  younger  is 
placed  above  the  elder.  Ephraim  is  put  above  Manasseh. 
The  immediately  subsequent  hisiory  of  the  tribes  does 
not  seem  to  bear  out  this  early  promise.  But  under  the 
leadership  of  an  Ephraimite,  the  brave  and  noble  Joshua, 
son  of  Nun,  the  land  of  promise  was  won.  This  gave 
the  proud  and  haughty  tribe  a  higher  position  than  its 


(  , 


THE   CRUDE   CAKE. 


29 


mere  numbers  would  have  implied.  The  new  kingdom 
ruled  over  by  Jeroboam  was  in  large  part  the  kingdom 
of  Ephraim.-  The  word  Ephraim  thus  came  to  stand  for 
Israel,  and  in  this  representative  sense  it  is  used  in  the 
text  before  us. 

A  word  in  regard  to  baking  in  the  East  will  throw 
light  on  the  text.  It  is  the  custom  to  heat  the  hearth, 
or  a  portion  thereof ;  then  sweep  carefully  the  portion 
heated,  put  the  cake  upon  it,  and  cover  it  with  ashes  and 
embers.  In  a  h'ttle  time  the  cake  is  turned.  It  is  then 
covered  again,  and  this  process  is  continued  several  times 
until  it  is  found  to  be  sufficiently  baked.  Israel,  as  a 
loaf,  had  been  put  under  the  ashes,  but,  though  well 
leavened  and  kneaded,  Israel  had  not  been  carefully 
turned.  One  side  became  a  burnt  crust,  and  the  other 
fside  remained  raw  dough  ;  and  thus  both  sides  were 
absolutely  worthless.  - 

Ephraim  still  lives.  All  his  characteristics  are  still 
seen.  He  has  many  representatives  at  this  hour.  Let 
us  look  at  a  few  of  these  representatives  in  their 
order. 

1.  The  man  who  lives  for  pleasure  alone  is  a  cake  not 
turned.  One  side  of  his  nature  is  unduly  baked  ;  the 
other  is  entirely  neglected.  Pleasure  has  its  uses,  but 
pleasure  as  a  businees  is  a  very  poor  business  indeed. 
Honey  is  good,  but  the  man  who  undertakes  to  eat  noth- 
ing else  will  have  neither  brawn  nor  brain.  ' 

There  are  many  representatives  of  this  class.  Some 
are  from  the  lovvrer  and  more  grovelling  classes  ;  these  are 
born  in  environments  of  sin.  Their  pleasures  are  of  the 
lowest  and  most  sensual  kind.  They  live  in  the  damp 
cellars  of  their  earthly  house.  Their  degradation  is  seen 
in  their  very  faces.  They  are  almost  below  the  rank  of 
human  beings,  and  to  class  them  with  animals  is  to  do 


?->i 
'i':-^!. 


If'l  1 


11 


30 


CHRIST,    AND  IIIM   CRUCIFIED. 


i, 


the  animals  injustice.  But  others  of  this  class  belong  to 
the  higher  walks  of  life.  They  have  elegant  homes, 
they  are  surrounded  by  every  evidence  of  wealth  and 
luxury  ;  nevertheless,  they  must  claim  kinship  with  the 
more  degraded  classes  in  that  pleasure  is  the  only  aim  of 
their  lives.  One  danger  of  American  society  in  our  day 
is  that  many  young  men  of  wealth  feel  that  they  have 
nothing  to  do  in  life.  But  few  of  them  secure  an  educa- 
tion. If  they  have  the  capacity  to  study  they  have  not 
the  desire.  Comparatively  few  of  them  are  ever  gradu- 
ated from  college.  They  are  not  willing  to  go  down  to 
hard  work  either  in  study  or  in  bucaness  as  their  fathers 
did  a  generation  or  two  ago.  These  young  men  are  fond 
of  frequenting  the  clubs.  Tlieir  talk  is  most  trivial,  if 
not  of  a  coarser  character.  When  they  have  exhausted 
the  horse-race,  the  latest  play,  or  the  newest  amusement, 
they  find  themselves  at  home  in  the  discussion  of  petty 
social  scandals.  Such  is  the  club  life  of  many  young 
men,  some  of  whom  have  honored  names.  They  do  not 
live — they  simply  exist.  They  are  a  reproach  to  Ameri- 
can life  and  to  the  civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
They  have  no  future  along  this  line  but  one  of  shame. 
There  are  in  Wall  Street,  and  in  other  business  centres, 
honorable  exceptions.  The  great  regret  is  that  these 
exceptions  are  not  more  numerous. 

In  the  old  country  this  crisis  has  happily  been  passed. 
A  great  change  has  taken  place  within  the  past  gener- 
ation— certainly  within  the  last  half  century.  Once  no 
work  was  respectable  for  sons  of  nobility  and  royalty  ex- 
cept gambling  or  similar  pursuits.  But  now  the  sons  of 
nobility  are  taking  hold  of  business.  The  daughter  of 
the  Queen  may  wed  the  son  of  a  duke,  as  honored  for 
his  literary  attainments  and  business  puisuits  as  for  his 
long  line  of  ancestors.     As  goes  the  court  so  go  the  court- 


TH£  CBUD£   CAKE. 


31 


iers.  To-day  many  men  of  historic  names  are  engaged 
in  banking  and  other  forms  of  useful  enterprise.  It  is 
felt  that  there  is  something  else  to  do  in  life  beside  fox- 
hunting and  pleasure-seeking  generally.  In  order  to 
maintain  a  respectable  standing  with  the  thinking  classes 
of  society,  such  men  must  do  something  in  life.  Two 
reasons  account  for  this  change.  One  is  the  comparative 
non- productiveness  of  landed  estates.  That  the  whole 
system  of  landed  estates  is  passing  through  a  crisis  is 
evident  even  to  superficial  observers.  That  the  laws  re- 
specting property  in  Ireland  have  been  at  times  unjust 
and  oppressive  all  will  readily  admit.  But  the  same  is 
equally  true  of  England  and  Scotland.  It  is  needful  in 
all  these  countries  that  the  great  estates  be  broken  up, 
and  that  the  cultivators  of  the  soil  shall  have  the  oppor- 
tunity to  become  the  owners  as  well.  The  great  pros- 
perity of  the  smaller  farmers  in  France  is  an  indication 
of  changes  which  ought  to  be  introduced  into  Great 
Britain.  But  the  recent  troubles  in  Ireland  have  a  deeper 
origin.  The  Irish  have  had  the  benefit  of  remedial  leg- 
islation sooner  than  England  or  Scotland.  The  English 
Church  is  disestablished  in  Ireland.  The  Scotch  Church 
is  not  disestablished  in  Scotland.  The  Celtic  race  is,  and 
always  has  been,  impatient  of  restraint.  But  the  two 
greatest  evils  of  Ireland  are  Rome  and  rum.  Roman 
bigotry  and  rampant  beggary,  popery  and  poverty,  Ro- 
manism and  rowdyism  are  evermore  inseparable.  This 
is  true  whether  in  Italy,  in  Ireland,  or  in  Lower  Canada. 
But  this  is  aside  somewhat  from  our  discussion.  The 
great  change  in  public  opinion  of  which  we  have  spoken 
augurs  well  for  the  future.  Men  of  high  rank  can  now 
engage  in  business  without  sacrificing  their  social  posi- 
tion. 
If  they  do  not  engage  in  business  it  becomes  necessary 


■m 


J   11 


l! 


!;^.il^ 


I  I 


i 


i 


w 


m 


CHRIST,   AND  UIM  CRUCIFIED, 


for  thorn  to  be  active  in  some  form  of  literary  or  philan- 
thropic work.  Strip  Mr.  Gladstone  of  all  his  political 
honors,  and  ho  wii'  still  stand  before  the  world  conspicu- 
ous as  one  of  the  ripe  scholars  of  the  day.  Remove  from 
the  Duke  of  Argyle  all  the  glory  of  his  ancestral  name 
and  estates ;  leave  him  simply  his  cultivated  intellect 
and  his  Christianized  heart,  and  he  will  still  stand  before 
the  world  as  the  author  of  books  representing  the  ripest 
results  of  science  in  loving  harmony  with  the  deepest 
teachings  of  religion.  Remove  from  Mr.  Trevelyan, 
the  recently  appointed  Chief  Secretary  of  Ireland,  the 
honors  of  political  power,  and  you  still  leave  him  the 
author  of  two  of  the  most  delightful  biographies  which 
the  century  has  produced.  Even  a  son  of  the  Queen 
meets  some  of  the  claims  of  modern  society  in  his  effort 
to  write  an  oratorio.  Men  of  wealth  and  social  position 
like  Mr.  Lecky,  can  neither  satisfy  their  own  ambitions 
nor  the  demands  of  society,  except  as  they  contribute 
something  to  the  world's  progress  in  thought  and  life  ; 
and  so  Mr.  Lecky  becomes  the  author  of  volumes  which 
will  make  his  name  more  enduring  than  monuments  of 
marble  or  bronze.  We  ought  to  be  profoundly  grateful 
for  this  tendency  of  our  times.  No  man  has  a  right  to 
live  on  the  fame  of  his  family  name.  On  no  heraldic 
crutches  ought  any  man  to  Ptrut  across  the  stage  of  life. 
The  world  to-day  asks  you  not  what  your  father  or  grand- 
father did,  but.  What  have  you  done  ?  And  its  demands 
are  right  and  just.  The  man  who  lives  for  pleasure, 
whethier  of  the  higher  or  lower  kind,  is  dead  while  he 
liveth.  He  is  a  wretched  parasite  ;  he  is  a  reproach  to 
his  species.  He  consents  to  doom  himself  to  an  early 
grave,  a  dishonored  name,  and  an  immortal  shame.  He 
drags  in  the  mire  of  his  own  lust  the  qualities  which 
might  have  made  him  a  blessing  to  the  world  and  a  child 


THE  CRUDE  OAKB. 


33 


of  God.  He  dooms  himself  to  crawl  and  bite  the  dust, 
when  he  might  stand  erect  and  eat  angels^  food.  He 
is  a  cake  not  turned.  One  side  of  his  nature  is  burnt 
to  a  or  ist  by  the  fires  of  unholy  desire  ;  the  other  side 
of  his  nature  is  raw  dough.  Both  are  worthless.  To- 
day, in  the  name  of  all  that  is  noble  in  manhood,  and  in 
the  name  of  our  divine  Lord,  1  beseech  you  to  be  true  to 
the  loftier  instincts  of  your  nature  and  live  for  the  glory 
of  God  and  for  the  good  of  men. 

2.  The  man  who  lives  for  business  alone  is  a  cake  not 
turned.  This  man  stands  higher,  all  will  admit,  than 
the  mere  votary  of  pleasure.  Business  is  good  ;  business 
has  its  claims  ;  these  claWs  must  be  recognized.  But 
even  though  the  business  be  honorable  and  the  methods 
of  its  pursuit  unobjectionable,  the  man  who  lives  for 
this  life  alone  loses  this  life  as  well  as  the  life  which  is 
to  come.  The  man  to  whom  this  world  is  a  god  is  a 
wretched  idolater.  The  man  who  lives  for  this  life  alone 
may  reach  that  end,  as  the  world  regards  it.  But  he  has 
missed  the  true  end  even  of  this  life.  Were  there  no 
life  beyond,  it  would  pay  any  man  to  spend  his  time  here 
in  the  service  of  God.  This  life  is  never  truly  lived, 
except  as  it  is  used  for  the  good  of  others  and  for  the 
glory  of  God.  Our  Lord  gives  us  two  illustrations  in 
His  parables  of  men  who  live  for  this  life  alone.  The 
first  is  usually  called  **the  rich  fool."  Our  Lord  sets 
before  us  this  man  as  a  warning  against  covetousness  and 
as  an  illustration  of  the  danger  of  those  who  trust  in  this 
world's  goods  as  a  source  of  blessedness.  Nothing  h 
said  against  this  man's,  character.  Not  a  word  as  to  his 
having  procured  his  wealth  by  any  unjust  means.  In- 
deed, the  fact  that  a  rich  farmer  rather  than  a  trader  was 
chosen  as  an  illustration,  suggests  the  honest  and  laborious 
processes  by  which  his  wealth  was  acquired.     The  sun. 


34 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


the  rain,  and  all  tho  forces  of  nature,  contributed  to  his 
increasing  wealtli.  He  had  no  roo:n  where  to  bestow  his 
fruits.  His  selfishness  appears  in  that  he  calls  the  fruits 
his  own  ;  **  My  fruits  and  my  goods,"  he  says.  But 
while  he  made  plans  for  satisfying  the  flesh,  he  utterly 
neglected  the  higher  wants  of  his  soul.  He  says  to  his 
soul,  **  Take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry  ;  thou 
hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years."  He  expects 
to  feed  his  soul  on  grain.  Can  a  soul  eat  wheat  ?  Well 
might  God  address  him  as  Thou  fool  1  Solemn  were  tho 
words  of  warning  telling  him  that  that  night  his  soul 
would  be  required  of  him.  He  heaped  up  riches ;  ho 
knew  not  who  would  gather  them.  He  was  rich  toward 
the  world  ;  he  was  unspeakably  poor  toward  God.  He 
made  no  provision  for  the  future.  To  him  the  future 
was  a  blank.  It  was  blackness  ;  it  was  darkness  ;  it  was 
death  ;  and  when  the  curtain  fell  he  went  out  into  that 
unknown  future,  leaving  all  for  which  he  lived  behind. 

In  another  parable — the  rich  man  and  Lazarus — our 
Lord  lifts  the  curtain  and  shows  us  what  lies  beyond. 
This  rich  man,  like  that,  lived  for  this  life  alone.  Un- 
like the  first,  ho  lived  a  life  of  jovial  splendor.  He  was 
clothed  in  purple  and  line  linen,  and  fared  sumptuously 
every  day.  He  was  the  incarnation  of  selfishness.  It 
is  not,  however,  said  that  he  was  the  oppressor  of  the 
poor,  nor  that  he  had  robbed  other  men  of  their  goods. 
He  simply  lived  for  himself.  He  neglected  Lazarus 
lying  at  his  gate.  The  rich  man  dies  and  is  buried,  and 
when  the  costly  funeral  is  over,  the  curtain  is  drawn 
aside,  and  while  Lazarus  is  in  Abraham's  bosom,  the 
rich  man  lifts  up  his  eyes  in  hell  in  torments.  In  his 
wretchedness  a  drop  of  water  on  his  fiery  tongue  would 
be  a  blessing.  But  he  is  now  reminded  that  in  his  life- 
time  he  received  his  good  things.     He  lived  for  this  life  ; 


THE   CUUDE   CAKK. 

ho  got  it.  In  Ills  misery  and  perdition  lie  reaps  what  ho 
]iad  sowed.  Having  sown  to  the  flesh  lie  reaps  corrup- 
tion. We  have  here  the  only  iUustration  in  the  Bible  of 
a  prayer  offered  to  a  saint.  It  was  a  prayer  tliut  came 
from  hell,  and  it  was  a  prayer  that  was  not  answered. 
Tlie  fires  of  perdition  have  not  baked  his  nature  through. 
He  is  still  the  unbeliever  that  he  was  upon  the  earth. 
He  wishes  Abraham  to  send  some  one  to  warn  his  breth- 
ren. Abraham  reminds  him  that  they  have  Moees  and 
the  prophets,  but  this  will  not  silence  him.  It  is  as  true 
of  the  lost  as  of  the  saved,  that  their  works  do  follow 
them.  The  temper  of  the  Christian  in  heaven  is  but  the 
full  fruition  of  his  temper  on  earth.  The  spirit  of  the 
lost  man  in  hell  is  but  the  intensification  of  his  spirit  on 
earth.  This  man's  demand  implies  that  his  brethren  on 
earth  did  not  have  a  fair  opportunity,  else  they  would 
have  repented.  He  would  thus  throw  the  blame  upon 
God.  He  claims  that  if  one  went  to  them  from  the 
dead  they  would  repent.  Abraham  replies  that  though 
one  rose  from  thG  dead  they  would  not  even  bo  per- 
suaded. When  a  Lazarus  was  raised  from  the  dead 
the  enemies  of  Christ  went  about  to  kill  him.  The 
spirit  of  unbelief  which  made  men  opposers  of  God  on 
earth  will  follow  them  even  into  the  regions  of  despair. 
Both  these  rich  men  lived  for  this  life  and  for  it  alone. 
All  men  who  so  live  have  no  outlook,  no  prospect ;  this 
world  bounds  their  view.  When  the  call  comes  for  them 
to  leave  it  they  go  into  th  unknown  land  for  which  they 
are  utterly  unprepared.  I  am  not  now  speaking  of  men 
who  have  been  guilty  of  great  crimes,  except,  indeed, 
the  greatest  of  crimes — unbelief  toward  God.  I  am 
speaking  of  men  whom  the  world  calls  eminently  re-  ^ 
spectable.  For  the  future  to  which  they  are  hurrying 
they  have  made  no  preparation,  and  such  a  man's  lifo 


t 


;i 


36 


CHRI8T,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


1 


cannot  but  bo  a  gigantic  failure.  There  comes  to  my 
mind  wliile  I  speak  just  such  a  man.  lie  lives  as  utterly 
without  God  as  if  God  were  dead.  lie  is  a  husband  and 
a  father  ;  but  he  and  his  wife  and  children  sit  at  their 
table  and  partake  of  their  food,  so  far  as  gratitude  to 
God  is  concerned,  precisely  as  animals  might  eat.  The 
name  of  Christ  is  never  heard  in  the  house  except  to 
round  a  joke  or  emphasize  an  oath.  This  man  is  with- 
out God  and  without  hope.  Ho  lives  for  this  life  alone. 
His  only  god  is  business.  The  most  important  part  of 
his  nature  is  utterly  neglected.  The  faculties  which 
would  give  him  kinship  with  angels  and  God  lie  abso- 
lutely dormant.  He  is  defrauding  himself  of  his  possible 
heritage  as  a  child  of  God  and  an  heir  of  heaven.  He 
is  robbing  his  homo  of  the  sunlight  of  Christ's  presence. 
Ho  is  a  cake  not  turned.  One  side  of  his  nature  is 
scorched  by  the  friction  of  the  world's  cares,  and  the 
other  is  raw  dough.  >     . 

The  world  has  claims  upon  men  of  wealth  among  us. 
Great  possessions  involve  corresponding  responsibility, 
and  the  intellect  that  is  used  in  acquiring  ought  also  to 
be  used  in  wisely  distributinp'.  God  will  not  hold  him 
guiltless  who  amasses  great  wealth  for  personal  gratifica- 
tion or  family  aggrandizement.  The  wants  of  ten  thou- 
sand needy  enterprises  demand  recognition.  Only  he 
whose  nature  is  symmetrically  developed  under  the  guid- 
ing influence  of  Christ,  who  came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto  but  to  minister,  who  came  to  rule  by  serving,  who 
came  to  be  King  by  being  the  lowliest  of  all,  who  came 
to  give  life  by  His  death  ;  only  as  men's  lives  are  mod- 
elled by  His  example  can  they  truly  live  and  triumph- 
antly die.  If  their  life  is  like  that  of  Ephraim  it  is  a 
cake  unturned.  On  the  one  side  a  blackened  crust ;  on 
the  other  raw  dough,  and  both  sides  useless.     These  are 


THE  CRUDE  CAKR. 


3: 


crudo  lives  ;  the  word  crude  means  uncooked.  The 
need  is  that  the  love  of  God  and  the  love  of  their  iiei<j;h- 
bor  should  so  warm  their  hearts  that  their  characters 
should  be  baked  tlirough  and  throu<i;h,  else  they  cannot 
escape  the  charge  made  against  Ephraim  of  old. 

8.  A  man  who  lives  for  culture  alone — as  that  word  is 
usually  understood — is  a  cake  not  turned.  Tin's  remark 
will  not  apply  to  a  culturo  that  is  broad  and  deep,  that 
takes  in  the  entire  being.  What  is  culture  ?  Look  at 
the  derivation  of  the  word.  It  is  tilling.  To  till  you 
must  plough  or  delve  ;  you  must  rake  or  harrow.  You 
have  culture  in  a  field  only  as  you  have  tilling.  Parts 
of  the  field  that  have  not  been  tilled  are  not  cultured. 
That  cannot  be  called  a  cultured  field  in  which  large 
portions  have  been  utterly  neglected.  New-world  farmers 
are  astonished  when  they  see  the  fields  of  old-world 
farmers.  Every  spot  is  tilled  ;  every  mountain-side  is 
cultured.  No  man  can  claim  that  his  is  a  wtll-tilled 
farm,  if  much  of  it  has  never  felt  plough  or  spade.  No 
man  can  claim  the  honors  of  culture,  portions  of  whose 
nature  lie  fallow.  What  would  you  say  of  a  man  who 
would  claim  to  be  cultured  simply  because  his  muscles 
were  well  developed  ?  Ynu  say,  "  Yes  ;  he  has  physic«l 
culture  ;  let  him  limit  his  claim  to  that."  But  you 
rightly  demand  more.  The  intellect  also  must  have 
culture.  Now,  more  of  the  territory  has  been  gone 
over  ;  now,  more  may  rightly  bo  claimed  by  the  man. 
But  why  stop  there  ?  The  man  is  more  than  muscles  and 
mind.  You  must  go  higher.  All  things  below  man 
look  up  to  man  as  their  centre.  Shall  he  have  no  up- 
ward look  ?  All  faculties  within  look  to  the  heart,  the 
soul,  the  conscience.  The  word  conscience  suggests  this 
upward  look.  It  is  a  solemn  word.  It  is  knowing 
together  with  another.     Who  is  that  other?     There 


n 


'!;l 


I 


38 


OHItlST,    AND    IIIAE   CRUCIFIED. 


stands  God.  Language  itself  witnesses  fc  its  Author. 
Man  is  not  a  god  unto  himself.  A  true  culture  includes 
the  entire  field  ;  it  sweeps  across  every  faculty.  It  has 
its  earthward,  manward,  and  Godward  relation.  If 
lacking  in  any  of  there  directions,  it  is  a  partial,  defec- 
tive, and  unauthoritative  culture.  It  is  a  cake  baked 
only  on  one  side. 

Tried  by  this  true  standard  many  claimants  for  this 
honor  will  be  found  wanting.  Sidney  Smith  thought  it 
better  not  to  read  a  book  which  he  was  to  review  ;  read- 
ing it  might  prejudice  his  judgment.  So  do  nien  of  cul- 
ture in  some  directions  seem  to  act  in  regard  to  religion 
and  the  Bible.  The  religious  side  of  their  nature  is 
neglected  ;  other  parts  are  cultivated.  On  science  and 
art  they  would  not  make  ignorance  a  claim  to  authority  ; 
in  regard  to  religion  they  act  as  if  their  ignorance  specially 
fitted  them  for  bold  and  authoritative  statement.  Such 
men  would  receive  our  contempt  did  not  our  religion 
teach  us  to  give  them  our  pity.  The  apostles  could  say, 
**  We  speak  that  we  do  know  ;"  not  so  with  these  ill- 
cultured  critics  of  divine  things.  Locke  said  :  "It  needs 
a  sunny  eye  to  see  the  sun. "  lie  is  right.  No  man  can 
really  see  the  ocean,  except  he  who  has  oceans  in  his 
soul ;  no  man  can  truly  enjoy  the  mountains  but  he  who 
has  mountains  on  his  brain  ;  no  man  knows  love  but  he 
who  has  felt  its  constraining  power.  Flesh  and  blood 
cannot  reveal  the  deep  things  of  God  to  a  man.  The 
Lord's  secret  is  with  those  who  fear  Him.  To  know 
bread  and  meat  you  must  eat  them.  A  hungry  man  who 
should  coolly  pronounce  on  the  life  giving  qualities  of 
bread  and  i^ieat  as  the  result  of  a  chemical  analysis, 
would  proclaim  himself  a  fool.  You  would  say  of  him 
that  much  starving  had  made  him  mad.  So  to  be  able 
to  judge  of  religion  you  must  have  religion.     This  is  not, 


TIIR  CRUDE   CAKE. 


89 


V 


on  the  part  of  the  religious  teaelicr,  asking  too  much. 
If  you  are  to  demonstrate  to  mo  a  probleni  in  geometry, 
you  have  a  right  to  demand  that  I  shall  know  enough  of 
the  science,  at  least,  to  follow  you  step  by  step.  If  I  do 
not,  how  dare  I  dissent  from  your  conclusion  ?  Is  my 
ignorance  to  give  me  authority  ?  Geometrically  I  am, 
on  this  supposition,  a  cake  not  turned. 

Surely  a  man  ought  to  be  diffident  in  pronouncing  an 
opinion  on  subjects  which  he  has  never  studied.  Sir 
Isaac  Newton  was  right  when  he  said  to  Dr.  llalley,  a 
man  of  sdence,  but  an  unbeliever  in  God's  Word,  *'  I 
am  glad  to  hear  you  speak  about  astronomy  or  mathe- 
matics, for  you  have  studied  and  you  understand  them  ; 
but  you  should  not  talk  of  Christianity,  for  you  have  not 
studied  it."  That  is  good  sense.  Dr.  llalley  was  not 
a  man  of  culture,  so  far  as  Christianity  was  concerned  ; 
that  side  of  his  nature  was  unbaked.  In  recent  discus- 
sions of  the  life  and  work  of  Emerson  the  name  of 
Thoreau  has  been  often  mentioned.  He  is  a  type  of 
one  clasi  of  men  of  culture,  so-called.  In  1837  he  was 
graduated  from  Harvard  College.  For  three  years  he 
was  a  teacher.  He  then  occupied  himself  with  various 
kinds  of  mechanical  pursuits  and  with  land-surveying. 
He  imbibed  the  spirit  of  Emerson's  transcendentalism. 
In  March,  1845,  he  built  himself  a  shanty  on  the  shore 
of  "Walden  Pond.  There  he  lived  a  sort  of  hermit  life. 
One  object  was  to  see  how  cheaply  and  simply  a  man 
could  live.  He  demonstrated  that  it  was  possible  to  do 
this  on  seventy  dollars  a  year.  Noble  achievement  ! 
Grand  ambition  I  True,  he  wrote  a  little.  But  what 
did  he  really  accomplish  ?  How  was  he  better  than  the 
miserable  monastic  hermits  of  the  earlier  day  ?  Such 
culture  is  supreme  selfishness,  which  is  the  essence  of  all 
sin.     Emerson,  in  his  measure,  fell  into  the  same  snare. 


■'.'^ 


' 


!  i 


H  :     \ 


40 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


He  was  refined,  solitary,  personally  pure  and  noble. 
But  whose  sorrows  did  ho  share  ?  Whose  burdens  did 
he  lift  ?  Carlyle's  culture  was  painfully  one  sided.  He 
was  crusted  on  the  one  side  ;  he  was  crude  on  the  other. 
The  harsh,  the  crabbed,  the  unlovin<^  elements  were  un- 
duly developed  ;  the  tender,  gentle,  and  winning  graces 
were  neglected.  Tha  men  who  bless  and  save  the  world 
are  not  of  his  stamp.  His  very  greatness  makes  his 
weakness  the  more  conspicuous.  It  is  also  to  be  borne 
in  mind  that  both  Emerson  and  Carlyle  seem  to  have 
come  in  their  later  years  more  fully  into  the  light  of 
Christ  than  in  their  middle  life.  Remarks  made  by 
Emerson  plainly  show  that  his  pantheism  gave  way  to 
theism,  and  that  Christ  became  more  and  more  an  Ex- 
ample and  Helper.  Carlyle  fully  acknowledged  that  as 
he  stood  on  the  brink  of  eternity  the  old  words  learned 
in  childhood  came  back  with  wondrous  power— that  the 
chief  end  of  man  was  to  glorify  God  and  to  enjoy  Him 
forever.  Culture  !  Yes  ;  but  let  it  be  culture  of  the 
whole  man.  There  is  more  power  in  the  sweet  and 
blessed  life  of  Sister  Dora,  with  her  strong  body,  her 
clear  head,  and  her  consecrated  heart,  ministering  to  the 
sick,  instructing  the  well,  and  comforting  the  dying, 
than  in  the  lives  of  sentimental  hermits,  transcendental 
philosophers,  and  snarling  critics.  Give  us  this  stalwart 
sister  ;  give  us  the  fragile  Havergal  as  samples  of  a  cul- 
ture which  the  world  needs,  and  which  only  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  and  His  cross  can  give.  When  Moses  came 
down  from  the  mount  beams  of  supernal  splendor  radi- 
ated from  his  face.  Of  the  silent  John  and  the  eloquent 
Peter  men  took  knowledge  that  they  had  been  with 
Jesus.  With  all  your  culture  forget  not  that  which  can 
be  learned  only  in  the  school  of  Christ.  Culture  will 
adorn  piety  ;   but  piety  crowns  and  glorifies  culture. 


m 


THE   CRUDE   CAKE. 


41 


We  want  both.  Both  are  one.  That  is  not  true  culture 
which  fails  to  cultivate  the  nobler,  the  diviner  elements 
of  the  soul.  The  man  who  neglects  this  is  a  crude 
Ephraim — a  cake  not  turned. 

4.  A  man  who  is  half-hearted  in  religion  is  a  cake  not 
turned.  Ephraim  had  introduced  much  of  the  supersti- 
tion and  idolatry  of  the  Gentile  nations  into  the  worship 
of  Jehovah.  Ephraim,  though  proud  and  haughty  as  a 
tribe,  had  been  lacking  in  moral  backbone,  in  loyalty,  in 
consecration,  in  the  service  of  God.  The  people  had 
worshipped  calves  at  Dan  and  at  Bethel ;  and  yet  they 
called  on  the  name  of  the  Lord.  They,  like  the  inhab- 
itants of  Samaria  in  later  times,  feared  the  Lord  and 
served  their  own  gods.  There  are  such  professors  of 
religion  to-day.  They  have  a  name  to  live  and  are  dead  ; 
they  have  the  form  of  godliness  but  not  the  power. 
They  have  not  true  religion  cither  in  experience  or  in 
practice.  They  to-day  serve  Baal  ;  to-morrow  Jehovah  ; 
the  next  they  flit  as  birds  from  branch  to  branch,  halting 
between  God  and  Mammon.  This  is  poor  business.  A 
half-and-half  man  is  a  failure  always  and  everywhere. 
No  compromise  !  This  should  be  the  Christian's  watch- 
word. That  was  a  magnificent  army  of  David's — '^  fifty 
thousand  who  could  keep  rank  ;  they  were  not  of  double 
ueart."  They  had  but  one  purpose — the  honor  of  their 
king  and  the  glory  of  their  God.  They  did  not  have 
one  heart  for  the  field  and  another  for  the  home. 

To-day,  Jesus  Christ  calls  for  men  with  one  heart,  and 
that  heart  on  fire  with  His  love.  Away  with  the  cow- 
ards I  Gideon  is  stronger  with  his  brave  three  hundred 
than  with  the  thousands  who  were  glad  to  return.  We 
want  no  unturned  cakes.  Our  denomination  wants  men 
with  convictions  ;  men  who  know  why  they  are  Chris- 
tians and  Baptists.     The  world  needs  such  men.     Men 


*  'Jm 

til 

t  [I 

'II 


^! 


■''  ii 
II 

!^1 


43 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   rRUCiriRD. 


r 


strong  and  true  ;  living,  loving,  brave,  and  gentle  men 
— these  the  Church  of  God  needo.  Christ  indicates  the 
men  He  wants.  He  commands  us,  in  His  admirable 
summary  of  the  Ten  Words,  to  love  God  with  all  our 
heart,  and  mind,  and  strength.  That  is  culture.  All 
our  faculties,  and  all  of  each  faculty,  must  be  called  into 
service.  We  are  also  to  love  our  neighbor  as  ourselves. 
Self-love  is  right ;  selfishness  is  devilish.  It  is  some- 
times said  of  some  men  that  they  are  very  pious  God- 
ward,  but  very  crooked  manward.  That  is  a  severe 
criticism  when  it  is  true.  That  is  not  Christ's  model 
man.  He  is  symmetrical  ;  he  is  baked  through  and 
through.  Unconverted  men  are  crude — uncooked  men. 
A  Christian  is  like  a  biscuit — twice  cooked — as  the  word 
means.  Christ  alone  can  make  such  men.  Come  to  the 
cross  of  the  perfect  Man  to  learn  the  first  lesson  in  true 
manhood.  Let  His  love  sweetly  bake  your  hearts  clear 
through.  Starting  thus,  and  continuing  thus,  you  will 
never  be  rebuked  as  crude  Ephraims,  but  you  will  one 
day  be  presented  to  God  as  perfect  men  and  women  in 
Christ  Jesus. 


III. 


ZEALOUS  SERVICE  FOR  GOD. 


ii* 


"  Not  slothful  in  basiness  ;  fervent  in  spirit ;  serving  the  Lord." 
—Bom.  12*:  11. 

The  Bible  is  an  intensely  practical  book.  It  is  full  of 
that  most  uncommon  sense  which  we  call  common  sense. 
It  does  not  contain  specific  rules  for  the  government  of 
our  conduct  in  all  the  varied  relations  of  life.  Mani- 
festly it  could  not.  It  is  said  that  the  Arabian  commen- 
tators of  Mohammed,  being  desirous  of  furnishing  a  rule 
for  every  situation  in  life,  prepared  a  book  containing 
seventy-five  thousand  directions  ;  but  it  was  soon  found 
that  cases  occurred  for  which  no  rule  of  tL  entire  num- 
ber was  applicable.  The  Bible  follows  another  method  • 
it  lays  down  broad  principles  of  everlasting  righteous- 
ness, and  it  gives  us  wisdom  to  understand  and  grace  to 
apply  these  principiCs.  These  principles,  like  all  God's 
commandments,  are  *' exceeding  broad."  They  con- 
front the  merchant  and  his  customer,  the  employer  and 
the  employed,  the  physician  and  his  patient,  the  lawyer 
and  his  client,  the  pastor  and  his  people. 

The  practical  character  of  the  Bible  is  finely  illustrated 
in  the  relation  between  this  chapter  and  the  one  which 
precedes  it.  In  that  chapter  we  have  a  state'ment  of 
some  of  the  important  doctrines  of  Christianity  ;  in  this 
chapter  we  have  a  dissertation  on  some  of  the  important 
duties  of  Christianity — duties  toward  ouryelves,  toward 
our  neighbor,  and  toward  God.     Religion  is  intended  to 


jtf.ir  ■ 


44 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


reach  every  relation  in  life  ;  its  aim  is  to  beautify  and 
to  glorify  life  in  its  lowliest  as  in  its  loftiest  aspects. 
It  is  not  a  series  of  speculations  ;  it  is  rather  a  system  of 
obligations.  It  is  designed  not  simply  to  inform  our 
minds,  but  also  and  chiefly  to  reform  our  lives.  We 
have,  to  this  end,  in  this  chapter,  many  pithy  and  prac- 
tical directions.  It  is  the  application  of  the  doctrinal 
teaching  of  the  previous  chapter.  There  was  danger 
that  PauPs  emphasjs  of  the  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith  might  lead  to  a  perversion  of  that  glorious  truth. 
Some  might  suppose  that  if  salvation  is  of  grace  and  not 
of  works,  they  would  not  need  to  be  careful  to  maintain 
good  works.  Now  the  apostle  reminds  us  that  the  faith 
which  justifies,  works  by  love  ;  that  although  God  pre- 
pares in  His  free  grace  the  highway  to  heaven,  it  is 
walked  in  only  by  those  who  walk  in  truth  and  love. 
We  have  in  the  text  a  threefold  direction  to  guide  our 
activity  in  daily  duties. 


DILIGENCE    IN   DUTY. 

1.  The  first  direction  in  this  exhortation  is,  "Not 
slothful  in  business."  A  little  explanation  may  be  neces- 
sary in  regard  to  the  word  here  rendered  "  business." 
In  the  eighth  verse  of  this  chapter  the  same  word  is 
translated  "  diligence."  It  might  with  propriety  be  so 
rendered  here — **  In  diligence  not  slothful."  It  denotes 
ardor  or  iiAtensity  of  mind,  and  then  industry  or  labor. 
The  word  business  is  liable  unduly  to  restrict  the  mean- 
ing. If  we  include  under  the  word  **  whatever  our 
hand  finds  to  do,"  it  will  be  sufficiently  correct.  The 
direction  means  thf  .  we  should  be  diligently  engaged  in 
our  proper  employment ;  no  particular  employment  is 
meant ;  it  is  an  exhortation  to  earnestneBS  in  all  appointed 
duties.     .  -y-.-y    " 


ZEALOUS   SERVICE   FOR   OOD. 


Ift 


Religion  is  always  the  friend  of  industry.  This  text 
is  in  perfect  harmony  with  other  parts  of  Scripture. 
Paul  in  writing  his  second  letter  to  the  Thessalonians, 
third  chapter  and  tenth  verse,  sayc.  '^  For  when  we  wen; 
with  you,  this  wo  commanded  you,  that  if  any  would  not 
work,  neither  should  he  cat.**  The  evil  complained  of 
here  began  to  show  itself  even  while  the  apostle  was  with 
the  Church.  Some  were  idlers,  and  they  needed  the 
earnest  words  of  Paul  to  rebuke  them  and  to  incite  them 
to  labor.  He  was  himself  a  remarkable  example  of  in- 
dustry. Often  did  the  grand  man  spend  the  day  in 
preaching  and  teaching,  and  then  labor  far  into  the  night 
at  his  **  craft"  for  support,  rather  than  be  dependent  on 
the  bounty  of  others.  He  becomes  righteously  indignant 
at  the  Thessalonian  idlers,  and  he  declares  that  neither 
should  they  eat.  They  were  not  to  be  supported  by  the 
charity  of  others,  unless  they  had  done  all  they  could  for 
their  own  support.  This  was  a  common  maxim  among 
the  Jews  ;  the  same  sentiment  is  often  found  in  the  writ- 
ings of  Greek  poets,  orators,  and  philosophers.  The 
maxim  is  in  harmony  with  strict  justice.  At  the  very 
dawn  of  human  history  we  are  taught  that  man  was  to 
earn  his  bread  in  the  sweat  of  his  face.  A  man  who 
will  not  work  ought  to  starve.  You  ought  not  to  help 
him.  Aid  given  to  a  lazy  man  is  a  premium  on  vice. 
The  Bible  abounds  with  instructions  and  warnings  touch- 
ing this  whole  matter.  In  Proverbs  21  :  17" we  read  that, 
"  He  that  loveth  pleasure  shall  be  a  poor  man.*'  This 
gives  us  the  inevitable  result  of  a  lazy  and  a  luxurious 
life.  The  man  who  sets  his  heart  upon  the  so-called 
pleasures  of  idleness  and  sensuality,  must  come  to  pov- 
erty. Such  a  man  robs  himself  of  the  glory  of  manhood, 
and  allies  himself  to  the  beasts  that  perish.  The  **  wise 
man"  says  again,   **  Love  not  sleep,  lest  thou  come  to 


m 


iM 


M 1 


:i 


l|?-!-'l 


mk 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


poverty.' '  Sloop  you  must ;  nature  demands  it ;  but  love 
not  sleep  as  if  you  hated  work.  Still,  again,  in  Proverbs 
18  :  9  he  save,  **  Ho  also  that  is  slothful  in  his  work  is 
brother  to  him  that  is  a  great  waster."  There  would 
seem  to  be  a  wide  distinction  between  the  prodigal  and 
the  idler ;  but,  in  fact,  tliey  are  closely  related.  Both 
are  fools  ;  both  are  on  the  way  to  poverty  ;  the  one  scat- 
ters what  he  has,  the  other  never  has  anything  to  scatter. 
Both  make  their  bed  in  poverty.  Many  other  passages 
of  Scripture  are  to  the  same  purport. 

It  is  easy  to  learn  the  lessons  which  God  would  teach 
us  in  the  light  of  these  truths.  He  has  no  place,  at  least 
no  good  place,  in  His  kingdom  hero  or  hereafter  for  a 
lazy  man.  Hero  all  God's  servants  do  what  their  hands 
find  to  do  with  all  their  might ;  there  the  redeemed  are 
*'  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve  Him  day  and 
night  in  His  temple."  It  is  just  as  much  a  duty  to  be 
hard-working  and  industrious,  as  it  is  to  read  the  Bible 
and  to  pray.  Labor  existed  in  Eden  before  the  fall ;  we 
know  that  Adam  kept  and  dressed  the  garden  even  in 
his  innocence.  It  was  a  mercy  to  Adam  that  after  his 
fall  he  was  etill  obliged  to  work  ;  and  labor  is  now,  not 
so  much  God's  curse  as  it  is  God's  blessing.  A  true 
Christian  is  to  be  more  attentive  to  his  duties  than  the 
most  grasping  or  ambitious  worldling  ^*  on  the  street." 
Whatever  is  right  in  business,  that  a  Christian  is  to  do 
with  all  his  might ;  whatever  is  wrong,  that  he  must  en- 
tirely and  determinedly  avoid.  But  he  is  to  be  inspired 
with  a  lofty  and  sanctified  ambition  ;  he  ought  not  to  let 
any  one  pass  him  on  the  line  of  honest  endeavor.  A 
lazy  Christian,  whether  in  business  or  in  religion,  must 
greatly  try  God's  patience. 

Experience  and  observation  abundantly  prove  the  truth 
and  wisdom  of  these  Bible  teachings.     To  thousands  of 


ZEALOUS  SERVICE   FOU  GOD. 


if 


ChristianB  the  necessity  of  doing  linrd  work  k  a  great 
blessing.  Tho  Italian  proverb  sa^'s  :  **  He  who  labors  is 
tempted  by  one  devil  ;  he  who  is  idle  is  tempted  by  a 
thousand  devils."  No  men  arc  so  likely  to  become  mor- 
bid and  fretful,  and  finally  insane,  as  those  who  have 
most  leisure.  It  may  be  a  very  bad  thing  to  have  too 
many  irons  in  tho  lire— although  Dr.  Adam  Clarke  did 
not  think  so — but  it  is  a  great  deal  worse  to  have  no  irons 
in  the  fire.  An  idle  man  is  to  bo  profoundly  pitied. 
Our  greatest  American  preacher  has  said  :  *'  It  is  not 
work  that  kills  men  ;  it  is  worry.  Work  is  healthy  ; 
you  can  hardly  put  more  npon  a  man  than  he  can  bear. 
Worry  is  rust  upon  the  blade.  It  is  not  the  revolution 
that  destroys  the  machinery,  but  the  friction."  Luther 
could  preach  daily  while  he  was  burdened  with  **  the 
care  of  all  the  churches  ;"  at  the  same  time  he  attended 
to  a  correspondence  which  fills  many  volumes,  and  was 
also  engaged  in  bitter  controversies  with  the  ablest  iren 
of  his  day.  Similar  things  are  told  of  Calvin,  lie 
wrote  his  "  Institutes,"  which  have  so  profoundly  affected 
the  thought  of  the  world,  before  he  was  twenty-seven. 
While  he  was  at  Strasburg,  he  preached  or  lectured  daily. 
In  Geneva  his  labors  were  even  greater  ;  there  he  was 
pastor,  professor,  and  almost  magistrate.  He  carried  on 
an  extensive  correspondence  with  learned  men  in  almost 
all  parts  of  Europe.  He  wrote  many  volumes,  and  was 
at  the  same  time  a  constant  sufferer  from  infirmities  of 
the  flesh.  Wesley  often  preached  three  times  a  day  ; 
one  sermon  was  sometimes  given  before  the  break  of  day 
to  the  hard-working  miners  meeting  in  the  valleys  and 
on  the  hill-sides  of  England.  In  addition  he  could  ride 
forty  miles  a  day  and  make  a  sermon  or  two  in  the  sad- 
dle. Men  seldom  die  of  hard  work.  Bad  methods  of 
work,  allowing  work  to  drive  us  instead  of  our  driving 


II    ■ 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


it,  lato  hours  and  spasmodic  efforts — these  and  similar 
bad  habits  often  prove  fatal.  Preaching  is  healthy  ; 
ministers  are  long  lived.  Honest  work  in  any  depart- 
ment of  life's  activity  is  God's  medicine  for  men.  In- 
tense activity,  physical,  mental,  and  spiritual,  is  the  only 
salvation  of  some  Christians.  This  activity  brings  thum 
into  harmony  with  God.  God  works  in  creation,  preser- 
vation, and  redemption.  Christ  said :  **  My  Father 
worketh  hitherto  and  I  work.'*  God  rested  on  the  sev- 
enth day  from  His  work  of  creation  ;  but  God  never 
rests  from  His  work  of  upholding,  controlling,  and  bless- 
ing the  world  which  He  has  made. 

Christ  put  Himself  side  by  side  with  the  Father  as  a 
ceaseless  worker.  He  was  straitened  until  His  work  was 
accomplished.  He  affirmed  that  He  must  work  while 
the  day  lasted.  He  was  one  of  the  most  intense  workers 
that  ever  trod  this  earth.  He  worked  right  up  to  the 
measure  of  His  strength  ;  often  He  seems  to  have  reached 
the  point  of  fatigue  and  exhaustion.  He  lay  down  to 
sleep  that  night  on  His  hard  pillow  on  the  stem  of  the 
little  fishing-boat  as  thoroughly  tired  as  was  ever  any 
laboring  man  in  this  audience.  He  sleeps  the  sleep  of 
weariness,  although  the  rain  beats  upon  His  face,  the 
lightning  flashes  over  the  lake,  and  the  thunder  roars 
among  the  hills.  Ho  sleeps  until  the  cry  of  despair 
reaches  Him,  then  He  rises  in  His  might  and  majesty, 
rebukes  the  loud  storm  and  hushes  the  wild  waves. 
Mark  is  the  Evangelist  who  especially  speaks  of  Christ 
as  the  mighty  worker.  Attention  has  often  been  called 
by  commentators  and  other  writers  to  the  fact  that  the 
earlier  chapters  of  his  gospel  frequently  contain  the 
words,  straightway,  immediately,  forthwith,  and  anon, 
as  translations  of  one  word,  indicating  intense  earnest- 
ness in  work.     These  chapters  give  us  the  idea  of  the 


ZEALOUS  8EKVICE   FOR  GOD. 


49 


utmost  activity  on  tho  part  of  Christ  as  He  presses  for- 
ward to  His  great  work. 

The  whole  earth  throbs  and  heaves  with  the  move- 
ments of  God  as  tho  mighty  worker  ;  now  it  groans  with 
the  terrible  workings  of  His  wrath  ;  now  it  blossoms  into 
beauty  and  breaks  into  song  with  the  blessed  activities  of 
His  love.  An  idle  life  puts  a  man  into  antagonism  with 
nature  and  with  nature's  God.  Such  a  life  cannot,  like 
the  divine  life  in  the  heart,  **  spring  up  into  everlasting 
life;"  it  must  either  stagnate  or  freeze.  The  highest 
genius  is  willingness  and  ability  to  do  hard  work.  Any 
other  conception  of  genius  makes  it  a  doubtful,  if  not  a 
dangerous  possession.  Buffon  said,  **  Genius  is  pa- 
tience." Williani  Carey,  our  distinguished  Baptist  mis- 
sionary, explained  the  secret  of  his  marvellous  progress 
from  being  a  shoemaker  to  becoming  the  founder  of  the 
Baptist  Mission  at  Serampore,  Professor  of  Sanscrit  and 
Bengalee  at  the  College  of  Fort  William,  and  translator 
of  the  Scriptures  into  several  Oriental  languages,  when 
he  said,  "lean  plod."  Good  work  will  tell.  Young 
men,  don't  whine  ;  don't  complain  that  you  are  not  ap- 
preciated. In  the  long  run  every  man  will  get  what  he 
is  worth.  If  you  are  capable  of  filling  a  high  place,  go 
up  and  fill  it.  Who  will  hinder  you  ?  The  world  wants 
such  men.  God  wants  such  men,  and  He  will  reach 
down  His  hand  and  say,  **  Come  up  higher."  John 
Ruskin  says  :  "  It  is  only  by  labor  that  thoughts  can  be 
made  healthy  ;  and  only  by  thoughts  that  labor  can  be 
made  happy,  and  the  two  cannot  be  separated  with  im- 
punity." Religion  tends  to  promote  industry.  It  gives 
us  a  true  conception  of  the  value  of  time  ;  it  constantly 
impresses  upon  us  the  importance  of  **  redeeming  the 
time" — buying  up  the  opportunities.  Religion  makes 
us  conscientious  in  the  use  of  time  and  opportunity.     It 


/iiii 


i  '! 


Mi 


M 


60 


CIIKIST,    AND  niM   CRUCIFIED. 


takes  away  tlio  temptation  to  frivolity  and  indolence  ;  it 
Bolcninly  reminds  us  tliat  slothful  servants  are  wicked 
servants.  We  are  taught  that  God,  who  forbade  work 
on  the  seventh  day,  has  with  equal  authority  coninianded 
work  on  the  other  days  of  the  week,  and  the  man  who 
will  not  work  during  the  week  is  as  guilty  as  the  man 
who  will  not  rest  on  Sunday.  Thus  all  experience  and 
observation,  tlie  law  of  God  in  His  Word  and  in  Ilia 
work,  and  the  example  alike  of  Christ  and  the  Father, 
emphasize  this  part  of  our  text — *'  Not  slothful  in  busi- 


ness. 


>> 


FERVOR   IN    SPIRIT. 


2.  The  second  part  of  the  apostle's  direction  is  of 
great  importance — *' fervent  in  spirit."  This  fervor  is 
the  divine  fire  which  kindles  the  sacrifices  of  diligent 
toil,  and  carries  upward  the  offering  of  a  sweet-smelling 
savor.     Never  was  this  direction  more  needful  than  now. 

Ours  is  a  busy  and  bustling  age.  The  most  sacred 
religious  duties  partake  of  the  spirit  of  the  time.  There 
is  danger  lest  they  become  mechanical  and  formal.  Wo 
must  be  careful  that  they  do  not  lack  genuine  fervor  of 
the  spirit.  Religious  work  is  pleasing  to  God  only  as 
the  human  spirit  is  moved  upon  by  the  divine  Spirit. 
God  demands  that  we  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
All  true  labor  for  the  glory  of  God  is  worship,  A  holy 
zeal  must  mark  all  our  deeds  of  service.  Communion 
with  God  is  to  be  maintained  amid  the  din  of  Broadway 
and  the  excitement  of  Wall  Street.  The  world  is  not  to 
quench  the  holy  fire  in  a  Christian's  heart  ;  but  that  fire 
is  to  kindle  a  flame  in  the  world's  heart.  The  fervor  of 
a  Christian's  most  exalted  moments  is  to  go  with  him 
into  the  coldest  duties  and  severest  tasks  of  daily  life. 
If  your  business  freezes  your  religion,  either  your  busi- 


ZEALOUS  SERVICE   FOH  OOD. 


61 


hess  must  be  very  bad,  or  yonr  religion  is  very  poor. 
Your  religion  ought  not  simply  to  keep  your  business 
from  freezing  it,  but  it  ought  to  warm  up  your  business. 
This  religious  fervor  will  make  you  more  successful  even 
in  your  business.  True  religion  will  arouse  every  ele- 
ment of  manhood  in  your  soul  ;  it  will  summon  into 
activity  every  dormant  faculty,  and  will  start  you  with 
rapid  steps  in  the  line  of  noble  achievement.  Do  not 
tell  me  that  you  have  been  a  less  successful  clerk,  part- 
ner, or  professional  man,  because  you  are  a  Christian. 
Do  not  plead  neglect  of  business  obligations  because  of 
attendance  upon  religious  duties.  Duties  never  clash  ; 
obligations  never  conflict.  Attendance  at  the  house  of 
God  should  make  you  better  men  and  women  in  Gvery 
relation  of  life.  Christ's  law  still  holds  good,  *'  But  seek 
ye  iirst  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  His  righteousness  ; 
and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you."  The 
somewhat  erratic  Dr.  Cumming — to  whom  I  am  indebted 
for  some  suggestions — says  :  "  Like  the  ancient  patri- 
arch, you  will  go  out  with  your  sacks  to  get  corn,  and 
will  return  with  the  sack  iilled  with  the  corn  ;  and  you 
will  find  hid  in  the  sack,  not,  literally,  a  golden  cup,  as 
he  did,  but  something  more  precious  than  all — a  full  sack 
filled  with  this  world's  success,  and  buried  in  the  midst 
of  it  the  blessing  that  maketh  rich,  and  addeth  no  sor- 
row." 

Many  of  the  rich  men  in  New  York  to-day  are  as  dis- 
tinguished for  their  piety  as  for  their  wealth.  They 
have  proved  that  godliness  is  profitable  ;  that  it  has  the 
promise  of  both  worlds.  "  How  can  I  make  the  most 
of  myself  ?" — this  is  a  fair  question  for  any  one  to  ask. 
We  travel  this  road  but  once.  If  at  the  close  of  life  we 
are  compelled  to  write  over  that  life  **  failure,"  the  sad 
record  must  remain  forever  ;  we  have  no  second  chance. 


1 


\m 


52 


CHIIIST,    AND   HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


3 


The  Christian's  answer  is  the  true  one.  If  there  were 
no  future  life  it  would  pay  to  be  a  Christian.  He  has 
the  highest  joys  even  here,  and  the  brightest  hopes  which 
the  future  world  can  give  him  ;  and  in  the  world  to 
come  he  has  a  crown,  and  a  throne,  and  bliss  which  can 
neither  be  expressed  nor  conceived.  Who  would  not  be 
a  Christian  ?  Many  of  the  merchant  princes  of  New 
York  are  kings  and  priests  in  the  siglit  of  God.  To  the 
industry,  the  good  associations,  th  i  purity  of  life,  and 
the  integrity  of  purpose,  born  of  their  faith  in  Christ, 
are  they  largely  indebted  for  their  places  of  prominence 
and  power.  To  such  men  as  these  New  York  owes  lier 
mercantile  enterprise,  her  princely  wealth,  and  her  hon- 
ored name.  Look  at  the  nations  of  the  world  !  To-day 
America  and  Britain  march  side  by  side  to  the  high 
placesr  of  the  earth.  These  English-speaking  and  Prot- 
estant nations  rule  the  world  to-day.  The  mercantile 
enterprise  and  progressive  civilization  of  the  world  obey 
their  voice  and  follow  their  steps.  Wherever  they  tread, 
the  plants  of  ignorance  and  superstition  die,  and  the 
flowers  of  liberty  and  religion  bloom.  The  world  to-day 
is  at  their  feet,  because  they  to-day,  as  nations,  are  at 
the  feet  of  Jesus.  Thus  it  will  ever  be  true  that  fervor 
in  Christiaii  spirit,  and  success  in  mercantile  enterprise, 
will  go  side  by  side.  This  is  true  of  individuals  an^  of 
nations.  If  Christ  be  in  a  man's  heart,  industry  will  be 
in  his  hand,  and  in  the  end  success  will  crown  the  labor 
of  his  life. 

This  fervor  of  spirit  is  needful  to  the  highest  success 
in  Christian  work.  If  it  be  wanting,  that  success  will 
be  wanting  also.  Its  possession  gives  many  a  man  irre- 
sistible power,  its  absence  robs  some  men  of  nearly  all 
power.  This  all-consuming  zeal  was  an  element  of 
Christ's  influence.     His  mother  and  His  brethren  could 


ZEALOUS  SERVICE   FOIl   GOD. 


53 


!l: 


not  understand  Him  ;  the  zeal  of  God's  liouse  had  eaten 
Him  up.  We  have  often  been  reminded  that  Cranmer 
and  Ridley  were  much  more  learned  scholars  than  was 
Bishop  Latimer.  He  did  not  dare  trust  himself  to  quote 
from  the  "  Fathers"  as  did  they  ;  but  he  knew  his  Bible, 
and  a  flaming  zeal  marked  his  preaching.  This  brave 
man  has,  perhaps,  made  a  more  lasting  impression  on  In's 
nation  than  any  other  English  reformer.  Bishop  Ryle, 
himself  a  fine  example  of  fervor  of  spirit,  tells  us  that 
although  Baxter  was  not  equal  to  some  of  his  contem- 
poraries in  intellectual  gifts,  yet  few  men  exercised  so 
great  an  influence  on  his  generation  as  did  he,  because 
of  his  fiery  zeal.  This  remark  he  also  applies  to  White- 
field  and  Wesley.  They  were  inferior  in  mental  attain- 
ments to  Bishops  Butler  and  Watson  ;  but  they  produced 
effects  on  the  people  which  fifty  Butlers  and  Watsons 
would  probably  never  have  produced.  They  saved,  he 
says,  the  Church  of  England  from  ruin,  and  their  zeal 
was  the  secret  of  their  power.  What  a  power  Christians ' 
would  be  in  the  world  if  each  one  could  honestly  voice 
this  wish  of  Brainerd,  *'  Oh,  that  I  was  a  flaming  fire  in 
the  hands  of  my  God  I"  Dr.  Mason  said  that  Dr.  Chal- 
mers's power  lay  in  his  *' blood  earnestness."  New 
York  churches,  in  pulpit  and  pew,  need  this  fervent 
spirit  to-day.  This  alone  will  melt  the  icebergs,  and 
burn  up  the  "  wood,  hay,  and  stubble"  in  our  churches. 
In  many  of  our  churches  young  men  from  the  country, 
with  hearts  glowing  with  Christian  love,  are  received 
coldly  ;  they  are  chilled,  and  soon  they  are  lost  to  activity 
and  joy  in  the  Christian  life,  and  perhaps  to  that  life  en- 
tirely. Would  to  God  that  we  believed  in  every  drop 
of  our  blood  the  solemn  truths  of  God's  Word  !  Oh  for 
quenchless  love,  glowing  enthusiasm,  and  fiery  zeal  ! 
Men  are  about  us  on  every  side  who  are  strangers  to 


I 


!     '[ 


!l|i 


tiiiiii 


■'if! 

:  i  'i 

-m 


m 


il"!'    . 


ml' 


ti 


Wm 


m 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


God's  grace.  Thej  are  on  the  road  to  the  judgment- 
Beat  of  Christ  and  are  without  God  and  without  hope  I 
While  we  are  "  not  slothful  in  easiness,''  let  us  see  to  it 
that  we  are  also  **  fervent  in  spirit." 


SERVING   THE    LORD. 

3.  The  last  element  in  this  direction  to  Christians  is 
"serving  the  Lord."  We  adopt  the  accepted  reading 
and  retain  the  word  Lord.  This  latter  part  of  the  direc- 
tion gives  unity,  beauty,  and  sanctity  to  the  entire  ex- 
hortation. Our  diligence  in  duty  and  our  fervor  in  spirit, 
must  be  governed  by  a  zealous  desire  to  serve  Christ. 
This  must  be  the  lofty  motive  whence  all  forms  of  activ- 
ity proceed.  We  are  in  constant  danger  of  neglecting 
this  motive.  Activity  in  business  is  likely  to  take  our 
affections  from  God.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance, 
therefore,  that  we  engage  in  our  so-called  secular  duties 
in  a  religious  spirit.  Every  duty  should  be  begun,  con- 
tinued, and  ended  with  reference  to  the  will  of  God. 
We  are  constantly  in  danger  of  separating  too  widely 
between  what  we  call  secular  and  sacred  things  ;  we  too 
often  put  asunder  what  God  has  joined  together.  Ac- 
cording to  this  creed,  religion  is  the  business  of  minis- 
ters, and  business  is  the  religion  of  all  other  men.  Re- 
ligion is  very  well  for  sanctuaries  and  Sabbaths  ;  but  it 
is  not  suited  to  the  activities  of  business  and  the  enjoy- 
ments of  social  life.  With  the  locking  up  of  the  church, 
and  the  laying  aside  of  Sunday  garments,  the  duties  of 
religion  are  also  too  often  locked  up,  and  its  responsibil- 
ities are  laid  aside.  This  is  all  very  bad.  It  degrades 
business  ;  it  dishonors  religion.  Some  of  us  remember 
how  earnestly  President  Anderson  used  to  emphasize  the 
duty  and  glory  of  serving  God  in  the  common  duties  of 
daily  life.     This  is  the  thought  of  this  whole  text.     It  is 


ZEALOUS   SERVICE   FOR   GOD. 


55 


possible  to  be  diligent  in  duty,  and  yet  to  serve  God. 
Again  and  again  the  apostle  expresses  this  thought  ;  he 
says  :  *'  Servants,  be  obedient  to  your  own  masters,  as 
unto  Christ ;  not  with  eye  service  as  men-pleasers,  but 
servants  of  Christ,  doing  the  will  of  God."  Here  lie 
gives  us  the  loftiest  motive  for  the  performance  of  the 
lowliest  duties.  Again  he  says  :  '^  Whatsoever  you  do, 
in  word  or  in  deed,  do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  Elsewhere  we  are  exhorted  that,  whether  we 
eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  we  do,  all  is  to  be  done  to 
the  glory  of  God.  This  motive  gives  dignity  and  glory 
to  the  humblest  duty  of  the  humblest  child  of  God  ;  it 
crowns  with  unfading  honor  the  labors  of  every  toiler  in 
the  Lord's  vineyard.  The  needle  of  Dorcas  wrought  for 
her  an  inscription,  though  not  in  brass  or  marble,  but 
with  thread  on  garments  for  the  poor,  yet  one  more  du- 
rable than  either  brass  or  marble.  Iler  eulogy  will  be 
read  when  the  victories  of  Roman  arms  and  the  glories 
of  Grecian  arts  are  forgotten.  Her  needle  served  God 
as  truly  as  does  the  pen  of  the  recording  angel.  The 
broom  of  the  domesno  servant  may  be  as  truly  used  for 
God  as  was  the  sceptre  of  David  or  Solomon,  You  may 
have  the  humblest  home  in  social  life,  and  it  may  yet  be 
more  resplendent  with  the  glory  of  an  indwelling  Christ 
than  was  the  temple  in  all  its  grandeur.  The  hod-car- 
rier's ladder  may  be  trodden  by  angels'  feet,  as  truly  as 
was  the  ladder  which  united  heaven  and  earth  in  the 
vision  of  Jacob,  and  the  hod  itself  may  be  radiant  with 
the  glory  of  the  Lord.  You  may  be  just  as  much  called 
to  your  work  as  the  preacher  of  the  Gospel  is  to  his.  If 
you  are  earnestly  engaged  in  an  honorable  calling  for  the 
glory  of  God,  you  as  truly  serve  Him  in  that  calling  as 
the  most  successful  preacher  of  the  Word.  As  students, 
this  thought  will  give  direction  to  your  studies,  as  busi- 


'l-i-  ' 


.'? 

11. 

1 

.!,,,,,-.           „ 

; 

ill 

III! 

;!  i|  p 
'Ji:  ' 

1      ! 

i  ! 

•h1 

M 

1 

:3 

i 

ijiilll 
m 


MM 


>!   1 


M 


li); 


m 
m 


iiij 


!ii' 


||:: 


M 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIKD. 


ness  men,  it  will  give  inspiration  to  your  pnrsuits,  as 
wives  and  mothers,  it  will  give  glory  to  the  daily  routine 
of  life,  and  as  employes  in  any  capacity,  it  will  make 
your  service  as  not  unto  men,  but  as  unto  Christ. 

Let  us  not  think  that  we  must  do  some  great  thing,  as 
we  call  it,  to  honor  God  ;  let  the  little  things  of  life  be 
done  with  a  great  motive,  and  God  will  be  honored.  It 
is  just  as  much  the  duty  of  some  men  to  make  money, 
as  it  is  the  duty  of  other  men  to  preach.  They  ought, 
therefore,  to  make  money  for  God  ;  and  they  ought  to 
feel  that  they  do  it  to  "serve  the  Lord  Christ.*'  No 
man  in  health  has  a  right  to  give  up  business  ;  he  may 
have  a  competency,  but  the  Lord's  cause  needs  and  de- 
mands all  that  he  can  make  and  bestow.  But  is  it  pos- 
sible for  the  merchant,  the  doctor,  the  lawyer,  and  the 
preacher  to  have  distinctly  before  his  mind  at  every 
moment  this  exalted  motive  ?  Perhaps  not.  I  start  for 
Boston,  the  railway  train  winds  and  turns  ;  at  some  par- 
ticular moment  I  seem  to  be  going  in  the  contrary  direc- 
tion, but  I  know  that  this  is  the  Boston  train,  and  am 
sure  that  it  will  reach  that  city.  So  let  a  man  know,  in 
the  very  bottom  of  his  soul,  that  the  dominant  purpose, 
the  controlling  motive  of  his  life  is  to  glorify  God,  then 
let  him  throw  himself  with  the  utmost  enthusiasm  into 
his  work,  and  he  will  not  fail  of  glorifying  God  in  all  his 
undertakings.  We  have  lost  much  in  our  daily  duties 
by  not  carrying  into  them  this  religious  spirit.  My  Bible 
teaches  me  that  every  obligation  which  rests  upon  a  min- 
ister to  glorify  God,  rests  equally  upon  every  member  of 
the  Church.  This  spirit  ought  to  characterize  us  in  all 
our  duties  as  citizens.  Men  say,  we  do  not  want  politics 
in  religion ;  it  is  very  certain,  at  least,  that  we  need 
more  religion  in  politics.  I  do  not  mean  to  advocate  sec- 
tarianism at  the  polls  ;  but  that  question  has  been  thrust 


ZEALOUS   SERVICK    FOU   GOD. 


57 


i 


upon  us.  The  willing  tools  of  an  unscrupulous  hierarchy 
are  asking  our  support  for  a  man  nominated  to  the  high- 
est office  in  our  noble  city  ;  our  public  schools,  and  other 
rights,  are  in  danger.  Silence  in  such  a  case  is  not 
golden.  Here  and  now  I  utter  my  emphatic  protest. 
The  right  of  suffrage  is  a  great  privilege  ;  you  ought  to 
exercise  it  in  the  spirit  of  prayer  and  for  the  glory  of 
God.  A  sublime  sight  will  greet  us  next  Tuesday,  when 
silently  a  nation  records  its  will  at  the  ballot-box.  You 
ought  to  march  to  that  box  with  the  same  religious  spirit 
as  marks  the  performance  of  the  most  sacred  duty  in  the 
house  of  God.  This  is  not  to  degrade  religion,  but  to 
apply  religion,  and  to  glorify  by  its  presence  every  duty 
of  life.  If  our  work  be  done  in  this  spirit  the  workman's 
apron  may  be  as  holy  as  the  bishop's  robe,  and  every 
hearth  may  be  an  altar  to  God,  every  house  a  house  of 
God,  and  every  table  a  table  of  the  Lord.  The  religion 
which  does  not  sweep  through,  control,  and  glorify  every 
duty  in  life,  is  a  religion  not  worth  having.  It  should 
manifest  irs  power  in  the  marts  of  trade  as  truly  as  in 
the  sanctuary  of  God — making  better  employers  and  em- 
ployes, better  husbands  and  wives,  better  parents  and 
children — thus  making  earth  a  foretaste  of  heaven.  1 
love  to  look  at  old  Trinity  as  she  stands  in  majestic  si- 
lence, amid  the  rush  and  roar  of  Broadway  and  Wall 
Street,  pointing  with  her  stony  finger  to  the  skies. 
Every  business  house  and  every  home  should  teach  the 
same  lesson.     Quaintly  and  truly  has  it  been  said  : 

*'  In  laborer's  ballad  oft  more  piety 
God  finds,  than  in  Te  Deum'a  melody." 

Poor,  indeed,  is  that  man  who  lives  for  this  world  alone. 
He  forgets  that  although  he  may  gain  the  whole  world, 
if  he  lose  his  soul,  he  makes  an  infinitely  bad  bargain. 


I  ■ 

m 
'lii 


m  i 


I 

m 

I'll! 


■J 
0 


\m 


68 


CHRIST,    AND  HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


To-day  I  urge  upon  you  who  are  Christians,  to  make  the 
text  of  this  morning  the  motto  for  life  ;  let  none  surpass 
you  in  diligence  in  business  ;  show  to  the  world  that  a 
Christian  can  stand  in  the  forefront  in  every  noble  en- 
deavor. But,  above  all,  let  all  your  undertakings  be 
conducted  with  a  single  eye  to  the  glory  of  God.  I  urge 
those  of  you  who  are  not  Christians,  first  to  give  your 
hearts  in  joyful  obedience  to  Christ  as  your  personal 
Saviour  ;  then  live  for  Him  whom  you  have  thus  made 
your  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King  ;  and  you  will  sweetly 
realize  how  blessed  it  is  to  be  "  Not  slothful  in  business  ; 
fervent  in  spirit ;  serving  the  Lord." 


TV. 

THE  SEVEN   "  OYERCOMETHS. " 

Part  I. 


"  He  that  overoometh  shall  inherit  all  things." — Bey.  21  : 7. 

Having  discussed,  in  expository  lectures  on  consecu- 
tive Sunday  evenings,  the  letters  to  the  seven  Asian 
churches,  this  discourse,  and  the  one  which  is  to  follow  it, 
will  be  given  as  the  conclusion  of  the  series. 

All  who  have  given  any  considerable  attention  to  the 
letters  to  the  seven  churches  in  Asia  are  familiar  with  that 
method  of  interpretation,  called  by  Professor  Plumptre 
and  others  the  "  historico-prophetic' '  According  to  this 
view  these  are  not  simply  seven  epistles  of  correction  and 
instruction  ;  they  are  that,  but  they  are  vastly  more. 
In  the  view  of  these  interpreters,  they  give  us  a  pro- 
phetic outline  of  the  history  of  the  Church  from  Christ's 
departure  until  His  return.  This  portion  of  time  is 
divided  into  seven  successive  periods,  each  letter  giving 
the  characteristics  of  one  period.  Many  pious  and  learned 
men  have  held  these  views.  It  does  not  come  within 
the  range  of  our  present  purpose  to  trace  the  growth,  or 
to  name  the  authors  of  these  views,  nor  to  discuss  the 
views  themselves  at  length. 

We  may,  however,  frankly  acknowledge  that  in  these 
letters  there  are  many  deep  and  mysterious  truths. 
While  they  were  actual  letters  to  historical  churches, 
and  perfectly  adapted  to  the  needs  of  those  churches, 


■m . 


i;i 


wm 


-4 


fiO 


CITUIST,    AND   IIIM    CRUCIFIED. 


they  also  contain  truths  for  all  churches  in  all  countries 
and  in  all  ages.  In  a  very  real  sense  these  seven  churches 
represented  the  churches  of  all  lands  and  times.  If  wo 
look  closely  at  the  circumstances  and  conditions  of  these 
churches,  we  shall  be  surprised  to  find  how  exactly  they 
will  be  found  to  represent  the  churches  in  our  own  day. 
But  this  periodic  scheme  of  interpretation  is  altogether 
unsatisfactory.  It  often  becomes  artificial,  arbitrary, 
-  and  contradictory.  No  historic  key  will  exactly  fit  the 
prophetic  wards.  The  facts  of  no  period  fully  dove-tail 
into  the  prophecies  supposed  to  refer  to  that  period.  In 
these  attempts  men  have  wasted  time  and  learning  which 
might  better  have  been  given  to  more  practical  religious 
ends.  To  make  Scripture  mean  less  than  God  meant  by 
it  is  bad  ;  to  make  it  mean  more  is  possibly  worse.  Both 
are  dangerous  methods  of  interpretation.  An  interpre- 
tation which  puts  into  Scripture  what  God  did  not  intend 
is  not  exegesis,  but  **  eisegesis  ;"  it  is  not  getting  out 
God's  thought,  but  putting  in  man's  wish.  All  my 
habits  of  thought  and  methods  oi  study  lead  mo  to  shrink 
from  doubtful  interpretations  of  Scripture.  Fanciful 
interpretations  have  done  great  harm.  Sceptics  and  op- 
posers  of  every  grade  attack,  and,  perchance,  demolish 
these,  and  in  so  doing  they  think  they  have  refuted 
God's  truth.  They  have  only  destroyed  the  whims  of 
men.  God's  Word  shall  stand  forever.  It  is  glorious 
to  stand  on  the  everlasting  rock  of  God's  truth.  When 
a  man  is  simply  the  voice  which  utters  the  thoughts  of 
the  eternal  God,  his  words  become  authoritative  as  God's 
truth  itself  ;  they  are  God's  truth. 

In  studying  these  epistles  we  have  been  imnressed  at 
every  point  with  the  fact  that  they  are  epistles  directly 
from  the  Lord  Jesus.  We  have  not  simply  the  thought 
of  Christ  suggested  to  John,  but  we  have  the  very  words 


THE  SEVEN    "  0VEUC0METH8. 


tt 


61 


of  Jesas  dictated  to  John.  This  fact  is  deeply  instruc- 
tive in  the  light  of  the  frequent  references  to  the  words 
of  the  Master  as  spoken  by  Iliin  when  on  earth.  He 
speaks  the  same  language  still.  In  the  last  three  epistles 
there  are  many  references  to  the  Gospels  ;  and  it  is  espe- 
cially remarkable  that  for  the  most  part  they  are  to  the 
first  three  Gospels  rather  than  to  the  last.  Christ  is  still 
the  same  Saviour  as  when  Ho  walked  and  talked  with 
men  on  earth.  This  thought  has  given  me  much  spirit- 
ual comfort  in  the  study  of  this  close  and  searching  por- 
tion of  God's  Word.  Here  we  sit,  like  Mary,  at  Jesus' 
feet.  John  was  not  His  inspired  penman  ;  he  was  His 
inspired  pen.  We  have  not  the  words  of  even  the  in- 
spired John  ;  we  have  the  words  of  the  divine  Jesus. 

Having  gone  through  on  successive  Sunday  evenings 
with  the  discussion  of  these  seven  wonderful  letters  in 
the  spirit  thus  indicated,  we  are  to-night  to  notice  the 
order  in  which  the  promises  of  these  seven  epistles  follow 
one  another.  That  there  is  a  well-marked  order  no 
thoughtful  student  can  fail  to  notice.  This  order  rises 
by  gradual  steps  from  the  beginning  of  the  kingdom  on 
earth  to  its  grand  consummation  in  heaven. 


THE   EPHESIAN 


**  OVERCOMETH." 


1.  The  first  promise  gives  an  assurance  of  life.  This 
is  found  in  the  letter  to  the  angol  or  bishop  of  the  Church 
of  Ephesus.  "  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to 
eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  para- 
dise of  God  "  (Rev.  2  :  7).  This  promise  is  to  him  who 
gains  the  victory  over  self  and  sin,  over  the  world  and 
the  devil.  The  Christian's  life  is  no  holiday  encounter  ; 
it  is  a  determined  warfare  with  a  fierce  and  unrelenting 
foe.  It  begins  in  grace  ;  it  ends  in  glory,  but  there  is 
often  a  mighty  struggle  all  the  way  between.     In  this 


llHi 


Ill' 


% 

ii:i 

i!'!!l 


I  k'iii, 


62 


CHRIST,    AND  HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


conflict  many  fall,  but  those  wlio  win  the  victory  shall 
be  at  last  crowned  more  than  conquerors.  The  first  prom- 
ise rightly  comes  first.  The  harmony  and  beauty  of  the 
series  would  be  disturbed  or  destroyed  if  this'  prom- 
ise did  not  come  here.  Look  at  it.  This  is  a  promise 
of  life.  It  must  come  first.  What  would  any  promise 
be  without  life  ?  This  is  the  basis,  the  substratum,  the 
necessary  condition  of  all  the  others.  The  first  is  the 
foundation  of  all  the  promises  which  follow  ;  the  last  is 
the  completion,  the  crown,  the  glory  of  all  which  pre- 
cede. This  promise  carries  us  back — as  so  many  of 
John*8  writings  do — at  once  to  the  opening  chapters  of 
Genesis.  There  we  had  a  short  account  of  this  tree  ; 
now  it  appears  again  before  the  record  closes  forever. 
Here  the  victor  is  promised  admittance  into  heaven,  and 
heaven  is  represented  as  Paradise  ;  here  he  is  assured  of 
sharing  the  joys  of  heaven,  and  they  are  represented  as 
the  fruits  of  the  tree  of  life  of  which  he  should  partake. 
The  history  of  the  race  is  inseparably  connected  with 
three  gardens— Eden,  Gethsemane,  Paradise.  In  the 
first  man  sinned  ;  from  it  he  was  driven.  In  the  second 
Christ,  the  God-man,  suffered  and  died  for  man's  sin, 
making  redemption  possible  for  all  and  certain  to  be- 
lievers. The  third  is  the  eternal  home  of  the  redeemed. 
Man  is  now  reintroduced  to  Eden  ;  the  fruit  of  the  tree 
of  life  becomes  accessible  and  available.  The  perpetuity 
of  life  is  as  certain  as  if  man  had  partaken  of  the  tree  of 
life  in  Eden.  The  life  which  this  tree  gives — as  we  see 
from  other  parts  of  this  book — is  a  healing  life  ;  it  is 
never  failing,  eternal.  This  tree  does  not  wait  on  the 
seasons,  but  bears  its  fruit  at  all  times.  Heaven  is  an 
eternal  summer.  Its  leaves  are  for  the  healing  of  the 
nations.  They  counteract  the  deadly  working  of  the 
tree  of  sin.    The  victors  are  to  eat  of  this  tree.     The 


Jl 


THE  SEVEN    "  OVERCOMETUS. 


M 


63 


saints  arc  to  hold  communion  with  Ciirist.     lie  tlien,  as 
now,  will  be  to  them  the  source  of  light  and  love. 

This  tree,  we  observe,  is  in  the  midst  of  the  Paradise 
of  God.  Paradise  is  a  word  of  Oriental  derivation.  In 
substantially  the  same  form  it  is  found  in  several  Eastern 
languages.  Perhaps  it  is  more  especially  a  Persian  word. 
It  is  said  that  Xenophon  naturalized  it  in  Greek.  It 
meant  in  the  Scriptures  at  first  any  garden  of  delight, 
then  the  garden  of  Eden,  then  the  resting- phice  of  souls, 
and  finally  the  highest  heaven — the  third  heaven.  By  it 
Xenophon  meant  the  pleasure  gardens  of  Persia  ;  but  re- 
ligion took  up  the  word,  filling  it  with  its  glory  and  ex- 
alting it  into  nobler  meanings.  The  use  of  the  word 
paradise  is  suggestive.  Once  before,  and  only  once,  so 
far  as  we  know,  did  John  hear  that  word  from  the  lips 
of  his  Lord.  Why  was  it  used  then  ?  Why  was  it  not 
often  used  ?  Is  there  any  connection  between  its  use 
then  and  now  ?  These  questions  may  well  detain  us  for 
a  little.  In  popular  language  we  know  the  word  stood 
for  all  that  is  fair  and  beautiful — a  garden  of  delights 
ornamented  with  stately  trees,  watered  by  limpid  streams, 
and  cooled  by  gentle  zephyrs.  To  convey  to  the  robber 
on  the  cross  some  conception  of  the  glory  of  heaven  that 
word  was  used.  But  in  addressing  His  disciples  the 
great  Teacher  did  not  use  this  word.  He  wished  to  lead 
them  to  spiritual  conceptions  of  the  glory  of  His  king- 
dom ;  they  were  to  learn  that  His  blessed  presence  was 
heaven.  They  needed  to  the  very  last  to  be  weaned 
from  their  conceptions  of  a  kingdom  with  its  t^ "one  in 
Jerusalem,  a  kingdom  in  which  they  should  be  prime 
ministers  and  other  great  officers  of  state.  Far  other- 
wise was  it  with  that  wretched  outlaw  on  the  cross  ;  his 
untutored  mind  needed  some  picture  of  sensuous  delight. 
Christ  met  him  where  He  could  help  him  ;  wisely  and 


■  ii 


C4 


CUKIST,   AND  HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


graciously  Christ  stooped  to  lift  up  this  ignorant  seeker. 
To  him  the  promise  is,  **  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  Mo 
in  Paradise."  The  years  pass  ;  but  this  word  is  not 
u(rain  found  in  Scripture.  Now  to  John  it  is  again 
spoken.  Spoken  once  on  the  cross  to  a  babe  in  ChriHt, 
it  is  now  spoken  from  the  throne  to  the  ripest,  noblest, 
and  divinest  man  on  the  earth.  The  loftiest  souls  are 
the  lowliest  ;  the  sublimest  are  the  simplest.  Extremes 
evermore  meet.  The  language  suited  to  children  is  the 
language  best  suited  to  souls  whose  ripened  faculties  give 
them  the  simplicity  of  children.  Half-developed  men 
may  not  use  this  lofty  and  lowly  speech.  Still  is  it  true 
that  Christians  of  the  most  advanced  culture  and  piety — 
men  like  Payson,  Rutherford,  and  Judson — will  find  the 
glowing  imagery  of  Scripture  the  best  form  of  language 
to  express  their  glorious  hopes.  We  still  speak  of 
gates  of  pearl,  and  streets  and  harps  of  gold.  Cul- 
ture ought  to  simplify.  He  is  only  half-educated 
who  cannot  talk  to  little  children  and  to  ignorant 
men.  The  object  of  learning  is  to  make  difficult  things 
plain.  To  John  on  the  summit  of  Christian  experience 
the  Muster  could  talk  as  He  did  to  tht  ignorant  robber 
on  the  cross. 

It  is  also  instructive  to  notice  the  correspondence  which 
there  is  between  the  nature  of  the  faithfulness  displayed 
and  the  character  of  the  promise  given.  They  had  ab- 
stained from  idols'  food  ;  they  shall  eat  of  angels'  food. 
They  had  denied  themselves  the  einful  indulgence  of  the 
world  ;  they  shall  roam  at  will  through  the  paradise  of 
God.  This  same  law  is  illustrated  throughout  these  let- 
ters. It  runs  all  through  God's  kingdom.  They  who 
deny  Christ  shall  bo  denied  by  Christ ;  they  who  confess 
Christ  shall  be  confessed  by  Christ.  This  is  a  retributive 
law  ;  it  is  shame  for  shame  ;  it  is  confession  for  confes- 


THE  BBVEN   **  OVEUCOMETUS, 


»» 


05 


sion,  and  denial  for  denial.     This  is  a  solemn  law.    To 
it  wo  niU8t  ull  conform. 

The  meaning,  then,  of  this  first  promise  is  that  the 
Saviour  would  welcome  the  victor  to  a  world  of  joy  ;  Ho 
would  permit  him  to  eat  of  immortal  fruit,  and  to  dwell 
in  an  abode  of  bliss.  In  the  first  Eden  wo  had  **  Para- 
dise Lost ;"  in  this  we  have  **  Paradise  Regained.'*  All 
glory  be  to  God  for  His  matchless  graco  in  making  this 
bliss  possible,  and  in  giving  the  victor  through  Christ  the 
right  to  the  ''  tree  of  lifo  !'' 

THE   8MYRNAN    **  OVERCOMETH." 

2.  This  second  promise  is  to  the  victor  in  the  Church 
at  Smyrna.  In  the  promise  before  us,  the  promise  to  a 
poor  and  suffering  church,  we  have  advanced  a  step.  It 
is  charming  to  notice  the  reality  of  this  progress.  In  a 
general  way  there  was  a  promise  of  a  crown  of  life  to 
him  who  was  faithful  unto  death.  This  somewhat  antici- 
pates the  other  promise  ;  but  the  one  which  comes  in  the 
usual  order  is,  "  He  that  overcometh  shall  not  be  hurt  of 
the  second  death"  (Rev.  2  :  11).  In  the  preceding  we 
had  the  promise  of  life  ;  here,  tice  perpetuity  of  that  life 
is  promised.  There  was  a  paradise  once  before  ;  in  it 
were  innocence  and  joy.  But  sin  entered  ;  death  came 
apace.  Shall  it  bo  so  again  ?  "Who  can  tell  ?  Shall  the 
trail  of  the  serpent  be  again  over  Eden's  fair  flowers  ? 
The  very  thouglit  destroys  all  hope  and  joy.  A  higher 
promifie  than  the  first  one  is  needed  ;  a  higher  is  given. 
The  paradise  which  shall  be  a  true  home  for  our  souls 
must  be  beyond  the  reach  of  sin  and  death.  We  must 
be  assured  ;  we  are  so  assured. 

To  no  one  of  the  race  has  God  given  the  promise  that 
he  shall  escape  death  ;  to  only  two  of  the  race  has  it  ever 
been  granted  to  enter  glory  except  by  going  through  the 


66 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


gates  of  the  grave.  To  be  born  i^  to  die  ;  not  to  be  born 
again  is  to  die  the  second  death.  The  second  death  lies 
right  in  your  path  ;  it  is  your  due  ;  it  is  the  wages  of 
sin.  To  the  Christian  there  is  no  second  death  ;  for  him 
death— in  its  sadder  sense — has  died.  This  thought  gives 
joy.  It  makes  us  breathe  even  now  the  air  of  a  country 
which  knows  no  death  ;  we  feel  the  exaltation  of  these 
deep  iiispirations.  The  unsaved  have  death  in  life  ;  the 
redeemed  have  life  in  death.  These  are  solemn  realities. 
Montgomery's  words  are  true  : 

"  'Tis  not  the  whole  of  life  to  live, 
Nor  ull  of  death  to  die.' 

The  phrase  *'  second  death"  is  a  startling  one.  In  all 
the  Gospels  you  do  not  meet  the  word  ;  nor  in  any  part 
of  the  Bible  except  in  this  book  do  you  meet  it.  It  had 
not  yet  become  a  common  phrase  in  the  Church  ;  still, 
we  may  be  sure  that  its  thought  was  not  unknown  to  the 
church  at  Smyrna.  The  life  of  the  body  is  not  its  true 
life,  so  its  death  is  not  truly  death.  True,  the  phrase 
was  not  on  Christ's  lips  during  His  earthly  teaching  ; 
but  the  awful  fact  of  the  second  death  lie  clearly  taught. 
Men  were  taught  not  to  fear  those  who  could  kill  only 
the  body  ;  they  were  to  fear  Him  who  could  destroy  both 
body  and  soul  in  hell.  Again  and  again  did  Christ  ex- 
press this  terrible  thought.  By  anticipation  it  is  a  rebuke 
to  the  materialism  of  this  day,  which  would  make  phys- 
ical death  the  end-all  of  life.  Later  in  the  Book  of  Rev- 
elation this  "second  death"  is  made  identical  with  the 
*^  lake  of  fire."  There  is  a  life  beyond  this  life  ;  there 
is  a  death  beyond  this  first  death.  Dean  Trench  quotes 
what  he  calls  '*  the  fearful  gloss  of  Augustine  on  these 
words,"  "Vita  damnatorum  mors  est."  These  words 
are  sadly  true— the  life  of  the  damned  is  death.    Believe 


I: 


THE   SEVEN    "  OVERCO.METHS. 


j> 


cr 


me,  this  second  death  hurts.  As  the  first  death  cuts  off 
from  natural  hfe,  so  the  second  severs  from  eternal  life  ; 
as  death  is  the  most  fearful  thing  we  know,  so  that  lan- 
guage is  used  to  describe  the  unknown  terrors  of  that 
awful  thing  called  **  the  second  death."  Three  times 
elsewhere  is  the  fearful  phrase  used  by  John  in  this 
book.     Again  Montgomery's  solemn  words  are  true  : 

"  Beyond  this  vale  of  tears, 
There  is  a  life  above, 
Unmeasured  by  the  flight  of  years  ; 
And  all  that  life  is  love. 


I'  .   . 


i   ' 


11 


**  There  is  a  death  whose  pang 

« 

Outlasts  the  fleeting  breath  : 
O,  "what  eternal  terrors  hang 
Around  the  second  death  !' ' 

To  the  faithful  Christian  there  is  a  crown  of  life.  God 
might  have  so  ordered  it  that  Christians  could  go  to 
glory  without  entering  the  tomb,  but  He  sees  it  better 
that  they  should  sleep  there  for  a  time.  Yet  the  glorious 
promise  of  life  everlasting  cheers  them  in  the  dark  val- 
ley ;  it  enables  thein  now  to  bear  the  ills  of  life  and  to 
look  forward  with  calmness  to  death.  A  crown  of 
righteousness,  a  crown  of  glory,  a  crown  of  life  awaits 
them.  They  shall  wear  the  garland  of  victory  and  the 
diadem  of  royalty  forever  in  the  presence  of  their  glori- 
fied Lord.  Oh,  escape  this  second  death  !  Oh,  win  and 
wear  this  crown  of  life  ! 


ii!' ! 


I    i 
I 


if' 


"11  i 


iii 


m 


il 


111 


THE   PERGAMENE 


"  OVERCOMETH. " 


3.  In  the  last  we  saw  that  this  heavenly  life  is  to  be 
perpetual ;  in  this  we  see  whai  is  its  sustenance.  This 
is  found  in  the  letter  to  Pergamos.  "  To  him  that  over- 
Cometh  will  1  give  to  eat  of  the  hidden  manna,  und  I 


llf 


I 


III 
m 


68 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


will  give  him  a  white  stone,  and  in  the  stone  a  new  name 
written,  which  no  man  knoweth  saving  he  that  receiveth 
it "  (Rev.  2  :  17).  This  carries  ns  back  to  the  Old  Tes- 
tament period  in  the  history  of  the  Church  ;  we  are  with 
the  people  of  God  in  the  wilderness.  There  is  here  a 
fine  illustration  of  the  harmony  between  the  faithfulness 
and  the  reward  which  characterizes  these  letters.  As  the 
sin  of  the  unfaithful  led  us  back  to  the  wilderness,  so 
the  reward  of  the  faithful  leads  us  thither  also.  We  get 
a  suggestive  glimpse  of  both  sides  of  that  wilderness  ex- 
perience. Here,  then,  as  above  hinted,  we  have  the 
sustenance  of  this  perpetual  life.  We^eed  other  than  the 
world's  food  even  here.  Its  unlawful  pleasures  we  set 
aside  ;  what  shall  we  have  in  return  ?  If  we  refuse  to  eat 
meat  sacrificed  to  this  world's  idols  we  shall  partake  of 
this  heavenly  and  hidden  manna.  The  Christian  has  a 
new  nature  ;  he  needs  new  food.  Christ  asks  us  to  give 
up  sin,  not  that  we  may  enjoy  less,  but  more.  The  Chris- 
tian has  meat  to  eat  that  the  world  knows  not  of  ;  he  has 
delights  of  which  the  worldling  cannot  conceive.  But 
tills  promise  like  the  others,  refers  especially  to  the  future 
life.  God's  people  were  supported  in  tlie  desert  ;  they 
ate  of  *' corn  of  heaven,"  of  **  angels'  food."  The 
*'  hidden"  may  refer  to  the  pot  which  was  laid  up  before 
the  Ark  of  the  Testimony.  Christ  is  our  hidden  manna. 
Hidden  now,  the  time  is  coming  when  we  shall  see  Him. 
He  is  the  true  bread  of  heaven  ;  on  Him  we  feed  now  ; 
glorious  antepasts  have  we  of  the  future  festal  day.  But 
we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is  ;  we  shall  be  made  like  Him. 
This  beautiful  vision  is  partaking  of  the  heavenly  manna  ; 
His  long-hidden  glory  shall  then  be  revealed  ;  His  own 
prayer  shall  be  answered,  and  His  saints  ehall  behold  His 
glory. 

What  is  the  white  stone  ?    There  is  an  almost  endless 


THE   SEVEN    "  OVERCOMETHS. 


)) 


69 


variety  of  explanations  for  this  language.  There  is  a 
fitness  in  the  color.  White  is  the  livery  of  heaven.  In 
the  symbolism  of  colors  wliite  has  always  been  associated 
with  victory,  purity,  and  joy.  Some  would  refer  the 
allusion  to  the  practice  of  the  half-civilized  tribes  of 
Thrace  or  Scythia,  who  noted  days  of  festivity  with  a 
white,  and  days  of  calamity  with  a  black  stone.  Still 
others  to  the  practice,  when  taking  the  vote  of  an  assem- 
bly as  to  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  an  accused  person,  of 
expressing  belief  in  innocence  with  a  white,  and  in  guilt 
with  a  black  stone.  This  is  not  satisfactory.  The  re- 
deemed are  more  than  acquitted  ;  they  are  justified. 
They  are  more  than  "  not  guilty  ;"  they  are  the  glorified 
sons  and  daughters  of  God.  Still  others  refer  it  to  the 
stones  used  in  reckoning,  or  to  the  custom  of  the  lloman 
emperors  who,  in  their  triumphal  displays,  threw  among 
the  people  tokens  inscribed  with  the  words,  "  corn," 
"  clothing,"  etc.  Those  who  found  these  tokens  might 
present  them  and  receive  whatever  was  thereon  inscribed. 
Archbishop  Trench,  following  in  the  main,  as  he  himself 
says,  the  hint  of  the  German  commentator,  Zullig,  iden- 
tifies the  white  stone  with  the  Urim  and  Thummim  of  the 
high-priest's  vestmer^s.  What  the  allusion  is  on  which 
the  language  is  founded  we  cannot  absolutely  tell ;  its 
meaning,  h  wever,  is  clear.  Christ  is  to  give  to  each 
one  of  the  >  adeemed  some  token  of  His  favor  ;  it  is  a 
secret  token  ;  its  meaning  is  intelligible  only  to  Him 
who  gives  and  to  him  who  gets  it.  Between  every  soul 
and  Christ  there  are  secrets  never  breathed  into  other 
ears.  Christ  stands  in  special  and  unique  relations  to 
each  child  of  grace.  He  is  all  yours  ;  He  is  all  mine. 
You  cannot  have  so  much  of  Him  that  1  shall  have  less. 
The  humblest  flower  can  look  iip  into  the  face  of  the 
glorious  sun  and  say,  **  Thou  art  all  mine  ;"  the  mighty 


:!')' 


ii 


70 


cftRTST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


oak  can  say  the  same  ;  it  can  say  no  more.  In  my  study 
I  get  as  much  sunlight  as  if  there  was  no  other  being  in 
the  universe  to  enjoy  a  ray.  It  is  all  mine  ;  it  is  all 
yours.  So  with  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  If  you  have 
told  a  secret  to  the  person  by  your  side  in  your  pew,  yoii 
and  that  person  are  separated  from  all  others  in  this  con- 
gregation. You  form  a  world  of  your  own.  Christ  and 
each  soul  sustain  such  a  relationship. 

According  to  the  old  Jewish  legend  the  manna  in  the 
wilderness  tasted  to  each  man  like  the  food  he  most 
relished  ;  to  each  soul  Christ  shall  come  with  new 
marvels,  sweetness,  and  glory,  and  suited  to  the  special 
need  of  each  soul.  This  white  stone,  with  its  secret 
name,  is  a  love-token  between  your  Lord  and  your  heart. 
Oh  matchless  mystery  of  love  !  Oh  ineffable  condescen- 
sion of  grace  !  May  we  all  eat  of  the  hidden  manna  and 
receive  the  white  stone  ! 


Y. 

THE  SE7EN    ^^OVERCOMETHS." 

Part  II. 


I  Ml 


it 


He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all  things." — Rev.  21  :  7. 


In  dividing  our  discussion  of  this  snminary  of  these 
seven  letters  into  two  parts,  one  of  three  and  the  other 
of  four  letters,  we  are  following  tlie  suggestive  symbol- 
ism of  the  nuniber  seven,  and  the  division  of  tliat  num- 
ber common  in  the  Scriptures. 

THE  THYATIRAN  "  OVERCOMETH." 

4.  We  now  come  to  the  Thyatiran  overcometh  ;  the 
description  is  found,  of  course,  in  the  letter  to  the 
Thyatiran  Church.  Of  the  victor  it  is  said,  "  To  him 
will  I  give  power  over  the  nations  ;  and  he  shall  rule 
them  with  a  rod  of  iron  ;  as  the  vessels  of  a  potter  shall 
they  be  broken  to  shivers  :  .  .  .  And  I  will  give  him 
the  morning  star"  (Rev.  2  :  27,  28). 

In  the  last  church  addressed  we  saw  what  would  be  tlie 
sustenance  of  this  heavenly  life  :  here  tee  see  what  iU 
eiajployrtient  will  he.  We  are  still  in  the  atmospliero  tii. 
territory  of  the  Old  Testament  kingdom,  but  now  we 
are  not  in  the  migratory  period.  We  are  swept  foiward 
to  the  grandeur  and  glory  of  David  and  Solomon.  Truth 
has  triumphed  over  the  nations  ;  from  tliis  point  it  is 
easy  to  foresee  the  time  when  He  who  is  David's 
Son   and  David's  Lord  shall  have  triumphed  over  all 


72 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


\n 


Pi! 


His  foes.  The  Bible  is  full  of  promises  ^f  power  and 
royalty  to  the  people  of  God.  Because  Christ  reigns, 
and  is  pleased  to  share  Tlis  throne  with  them,  they  shall 
reign  also.  The  second  psahnis  the  foundation  on  which 
these  promises  rest.  The  Church  is  to  rule  the  world, 
and  in  a  sense  does,  even  now  ;  the  saints  are  yet  to 
judge  even  angels.  This  is  language  of  singular  gran- 
deur. Professor  Plumptre  (and  the  Greek  words  justify 
him)  finely  explains  this  to  be  "  the  might  of  right, 
not  the  right  of  might."  He  shall  guide  the  nations— 
shall  do  a  shepherd's  work — that  is  the  idea.  The  victor 
shall  share  in  the  glory  of  the  anointed  King.  He  shall 
rule  them  with  a  sceptre  of  iron,  that  they  may  learn  to 
bow  to  the  sceptre  of  love.  The  power  described  is  not 
harsh  and  tyrannical,  but  firm  and  mighty.  This  exalta- 
tion is  future.  Wlien  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  to 
judge  the  world  His  saints  shall  share  with  Him  in  His 
triumphs.  Kinship  in  suffering  gives  kinship  in  sover- 
eignty. Here,  as  in  former  cases,  there  is  a  charming 
fitness  in  the  nature  of  the  promise.  They  were  tempted 
to  submit  to  the  customs  of  the  heathen  ;  they  were  in 
danger  of  denying  their  Lord  as  the  Crucified  before 
these  enemies.  Those  who  overcame  that  temptation 
are  assured  that  they  shall  one  day  lord  it  for  truth  and 
Christ  over  these  heathen,  that  the  power  of  these  op- 
posers  should  be  crushed  to  pieces  before  the  majesty  of 
their  King.  Why,  then,  deny  Him  to  please  them  ? 
The  argument  is  plain  ;  the  encouragement  is  glorious. 

Another  question  comes  in  here,  What  is  the  morning 
star  ?  The  literal  star  is  Venus.  This  is  the  bright  har- 
binger of  the  day.  It  appears  as  the  darkness  disappears, 
it  is  the  herald  of  the  glorious  sun.  Many  beautiful 
parallels  may  be  drawn  between  the  morning  star  and 
Jesus.     It  is  not  said  that  the  victor  would  be  made  like 


THE   SEVEN    "  OVEKCOMETHS. 


>» 


73 


*' 


the  morning  star,  but  tho  promise  is  that  the  morning 
Btar  would  be  given  him.  Hence  some  have  supposed 
that  some  brilliant  ornament,  like  the  morning  star, 
should  be  given  the  redeemed,  to  sparkle  as  a  gem  in 
their  diadem.  But  there  is  a  better  explanation.  The 
tree  of  life  and  the  manna  refer  to  the  Lord  Himself. 
lie  Himself  is  the  crowning  blessing.  His  presence 
makes  heaven.  Without  Ilim  no  place  could  be  heaven  ; 
with  Him  any  place  is  heaven.  All  that  is  loveliest  in 
creation  is  a  faint  reflection  of  His  glory.  In  this  same 
book  He  claims  the  title  of  the  "  bright  and  morning 
star."  The  star  was  always  the  emblem  of  sovereignty. 
Balaam,  we  read,  saw  "a  star  coming  out  of  Jacob." 
A  star  led  the  Magi  to  Jesus'  feet.  They  that  turn 
many  to  righteousness  shall  shine  as  the  stars  forever. 
In  the  centre  of  that  brilliant  galaxy,  giving  them  all 
their  lustre  and  glory,  will  be  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself. 
He  will  impart  to  them  His  royalty.  When  He  promises 
to  give  His  victorious  followers  the  **  morning  star,"  He 
promises  to  give  them  Himself  in  the  undimmed  splendor 
of  His  glorious  perfections.  This  is  your  prospect,  oh 
Christians.  Act  worthy  of  your  high  destiny.  Trample 
sin  and  Satan  under  your  feet,  and  go  forward  with 
Christ  as  tho  heirs  of  life  and  glory. 

THE    SARDIAN    '^  OVERCOMETH." 

5.  The  promise  to  the  angel  of  the  Sardian  Church  is 
the  next  in  the  regular  order.  \Ve  enter  here  upon  a 
new  series  ;  the  other  is  ended.  Its  consummation  was 
reached.  We  now  enter  a  new  atmosphere,  a  new  ter- 
ritory. This  series  is  distinguished  from  the  former  in 
several  marked  particulars  :  Our  Lord  again  assumes  a 
title  similar  to  the  one  with  which  the  first  series  began. 
He  makes  a  second  beginning  ;  all  the  promises  now  are 


74 


CHRIST,    AXD   HTM   mrciFTED. 


ti; 


drawn  from  New  Testament  ratlier  than  Old  Testament 
imagery,  and  this  in  a  marked  manner  ;  in  this  series 
there  is  a  looking  for  and  hastening  toward  the  second 
coming  of  our  Lord  not  observable  in  the  first  ;  there  is 
also  a  geographical  distinction  ;  bnt  this  is  not  in  all  cases 
very  distinctly  marked.  Dean  Trench  notices  here  *'  the 
heptad  falls,  as  is  constantly  the  case,  into  two  groups  ; 
cither  of  three  and  four,  as  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  or  of 
four  and  three,  as  here.  And  now  the  scenery,  if  I  may 
use  the  word,  changes  ;  it  is  not  any  longer  of  earth,  but 
of  heaven.  The  kingdom,  not  of  David,  but  of  David's 
Son,  has  come  ;  all  His  fors  are  under  His  feet  ;  His 
Church  is  not  any  longer  contemplated  as  militant,  but 
triumphant  ;  and  in  the  succession  of  the  last  three  prom- 
ises we  learn  that  even  for  the  Church  triumphant  there 
are  steps  and  advances  from  glory  to  glory." 

The  promise  to  the  victorious  Christian  here  is  that 
**  he  shall  be  clothed  in  white  raiment ;  and  I  will  not 
blot  out  his  name  out  of  the  book  of  life,  but  will  con- 
fess his  name  before  My  Father,  and  before  His  angels" 
(Rev.  3  :  5).  In  the  preceding  verse  there  is  an  antici- 
pation of  this  promise,  "And  they  shall  walk  with  me 
in  white,  for  they  are  worthy."  There  were  some  even 
in  Sard  is  wlio  hud  not  defiled  their  garments  ;  they  had 
kept  themselves  *' unspotted  from  the  world."  They 
shall  have  garments  of  more  perfect  whiteness.  They 
have  worn  the  garments  of  grace  ;  they  shall  wear  the 
garments  of  glory.  There  is  doubtless  a  reference  hero 
to  the  white  robes  put  on  at  baptism  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian's  walk  in  the  Church  below  ;  now  as  he 
begins  his  life  in  the  Church  above,  he  is  also  to  v\r"lk  in 
white.  The  walking  brings  out  the  idea  of  the  grace 
and  dignity  of  the  garment  as  well  as  the  life  and  activity 
of  the  wearer.     There  is  a  worthiness  which  is  here  rec- 


ft 

in  I 


THE   SFVKN    '^  OVERCOMETns. 


»» 


•rr) 


Ognized  as  belonging  to  men — a  worthiness  not  of  merit, 
but  of  grace. 

Many  in  the  Sardian  Church  "  had  a  name  that  they 
lived,  and  yet  were  dead."  But  there  were  thoso  \\\iv> 
had  not  only  the  name  but  the  reality  of  life  ;  tlici. 
names  were  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Life.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  this  symbolism  had  its  origin  in  the  politi- 
cal life  of  Egypt.  It  occurs  first  in  the  Bible  in  Exodus 
32  :  32,  "  Blot  me,  I  pray  thee,  out  of  Thy  book  which 
Thou  hast  written."  Afterward  it  came  to  pass  that  one 
who  was  convicted  of  treachery  to  the  state  had  his  name 
struck  from  the  list  of  citizens.  He  became  ^'  a  man 
without  a  country."  In  the  tierce  malediction  of  sonie 
psalms  we  have  the  same  sentiment  expressed.  Are 
there  names  on  the  page  of  the  Book  of  Life  which  may 
be  blotted  out  'i  This  language  would  seem  at  first 
thought  to  imply  as  much.  But,  on  the  other  side,  is  it 
not  true  that  all  who  are  written  in  the  Book  of  Life  do 
overcome  ?  None  who  have  their  names  written  fail  in 
the  strife  ;  none  have  their  names  blotted  out.  This 
promise  includes  us  all  who  are  loyal  to  the  Lord.  The 
names  of  the  faithful  will  be  found  there  on  that  great 
day  when  the  books  are  opened.  No  one  has  the  power 
to  open  the  book  but  Christ  ;  we  aie  safe  in  His  hands. 
The  hour  is  coming  when  it  will  be  a  higher  honor  to 
have  our  names  there  than  if  they  were  ranked  among 
the  grandest  names  on  the  highest  scroll  of  earthly  fame. 
Is  your  name  there  ?  Is  mine  ?  This  is  a  solemn  ques- 
tion.    Oh  let  us  beseech  Christ  to  write  it  there  ! 

The  further  promise  is  that  He  will  confess  us  before 
His  Father  and  His  angels.  This  reminds  us  of  Christ's 
words  when  on  earth.  This  is  the  heavenly  seal  to  His 
earthly  words.  This  epistle  especially  abounds  in  sayings 
which  our  Lord  uttered  on  earth.     This  promise  is  the 


76 


CHHIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


echo  of  the  words  spoken  years  before,  **  Whosoever 
therefore  shall  confess  Me  before  men,  him  will  I  con- 
fess also  before  My  Father  which  is  in  heaven"  (Matt. 
10  :  32).  In  Luke  12  :  8  there  is  an  additional  thought 
— **  before  the  angels  of  God."  It  is  a  precious  thonght 
that  Christ  is  still  the  same.  His  promises  the  same,  Ills 
love  the  same.  Would  you  know  the  Christ  of  the  throne  ? 
Behold  the  Clirist  of  tlie  cross.  Does  His  heart  still  beat 
in  sympathy  with  the  sorrowing  ?  Behold  II is  compassion 
for  the  widow  of  Nain  in  her  great  sorrow.  Ilis  heait 
etill  throbs  with  human  sympathy.  Tie  carried  a  human 
body  up  to  the  throne  of  His  glory  ;  that  body  still  bears 
the  marks  of  Calvary.  You  may  trust  Him.  Have  you 
confessed  Him  on  earth  ?  Are  you  ashamed  now  of 
Jesus  ?  He  will  then  be  ashamed  of  yoM.  It  is  shame 
for  shame.  Confess  Him  now,  in  deed  as  in  word,  as 
your  personal  Saviour,  and  then  amid  the  glories  of  the 
heavenly  kingdom  He  will  confess  you  us  His  own  when 
He  makes  up  His  jewels. 

TUE  nilLADErPniAN   "OVERCOMETH.*' 

6.  We  now  come  to  the  promise  made  to  the  Phila- 
delphian  Church.  The  name  and  history  of  this  ohuich 
must  always  have  a  peculiar  interest  for  us.  That  ancient 
city  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Tmolus,  on  the  banks  of  the 
little  river  Cogamus,  has  given  its  name  to  our  own  city 
of  "  brotherly  love,"  which  William  l*enn  founded  on 
the  banks  of  the  Delaware.  The  old  city  of  Asia  per- 
petuates its  name  in  this  noble  city  of  America. 

*'  Him  that  overcometh  will  I  make  a  pillar  in  the 
temple  of  My  God  ;  and  he  shall  go  no  more  out ;  and 
I  will  write  upon  him  the  name  of  My  God,  and  the 
name  of  the  city  of  My  God,  which  is  New  Jerusalem, 
which  Cometh  down  out  of  heaven  from  My  God  ;  and 


THE   SEVEN    "  0VEUC0METH8. 


»» 


77 


I  will  write  upon  him  My  new  name"  (Rov.  3:12). 
Here  we  rapidly  advaneo  ;  wo  are  j^oing  upward  step  by 
step  ;  each  **  overcoinoth"  finds  us  higher  than  the  iagt. 
This  "  pillar"  does  not  describe  some  eminent  position 
in  the  Church  on  earth  ;  tlio  promise  has  reference  to 
the  future.  Still  tlie  earthly  iniagory  is  carried  to  the 
heavenly  temple.  John  was  one  of  the  three  "  who 
seemed  to  be  pillars"  of  the  mother-church  in  Jerusalem, 
as  we  see  by  Galatians  2  :  9.  Now  the  promise  is  that 
as  ho  had  been  a  support  to  the  Church  on  earth,  so 
every  one  who  overcame  should  be  in  the  temple  in  the 
new  Jerusalem.  It  is  further  added,  *'  lie  shall  go  no 
more  out."  Once  in  he  is  in  forever.  '*  The  doors  are 
shut''  both  to  include  and  to  exclude.  On  earth  there  is 
the  possibility  of  failure  ;  the  most  faithful  may  become 
faithless  ;  the  most  devoted  may  become  careless.  The 
old  city  of  Philadelphia  suffered  greatly  from  earth- 
quakes ;  its  temples  were  often  shaken  ;  its  pillars  were 
broken  and  removed  ;  new  ones  had  to  be  supplied.  It 
is  possible  that  this  local  peculiarity  may  have  suggested 
this  striking  contrast.  Here  is  a  temple  which  no  earth- 
quakes can  shake  ;  a  pillar  which  remains  forever  firm. 
There  is  the  most  absolute  certainty  that  the  welfare  of 
the  soul  in  heaven  can  never  be  endangered.  We  may 
roam  from  w^orld  to  world  until  all  the  marvels  of  crea- 
tion shall  be  studied,  but  we  shall  never  go  out  of  this 
glorious  temple.  Conflicts  will  then  bo  over,  doubts 
will  no  more  distress,  fears  no  more  annoy,  sin  no  more 
alarm.     Blessed  are  they  who  live  and  die  in  the  Lord  ! 

The  promise  is  greater  still,  **  And  1  will  write  upon 
him  the  name  of  My  God."  On  the  columns  of  many 
public  buildings  the  names  of  distinguished  men  were 
written.  He  who  overcomes  will  be  recognized  forever 
as  belonging  to  God.     Christ  will  write  on  the  man  the 


ii 


I 


78 


CHRIST,    AND  HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


.'* 


namo  of  liiR  God.  It  will  also  be  known  that  ho  be- 
luii«rs  tu  the  city  of  Ood  ;  tliut  ho  enjoys  the  rights  and 
irjoiec's  in  tho  privileges  of  that  heavenly  citizenship. 
This  is  that  heavenly  city  for  which  Abraham  looked. 
It  goes  by  many  names.  The  Greek  and  Latin  potts  of 
I  ho  Church  have  vied  with  one  another  in  chanting  the 
l)rairte8  of  this  city.  Our  later  hymn-writers  vie  in  turn 
with  thoni  in  tho  same  direction.  They  have  spoken 
glorious  things  of  this  city  of  God.  We  have  also  later 
in  this  book  a  niagnillcent  description,  but  we  may  be 
sure  that  tho  lialf  has  not  been  told  us.  '*  Now  we  see 
through  a  glass  darkly."  Here  it  is  called  the  **  new" 
JerusaleuK  There  are  two  words  in  Greek  for  new. 
One  expresses  that  which  is  new  in  the  sense  that  it  had 
recently  como  into  existence  ;  the  other  expresses  that 
which  is  new  as  opposed  to  the  old  and  worn-out.  The 
latter  is  the  word  used  here.  The  other  Jerusalem  is 
soiled,  stained,  sinful ;  this  new  Jerusalem  is  clean,  pure, 
and  spotless. 

Last  and  best  of  all,  is  tlio  "  new  name"  of  the  Lord 
Himself.  Christ  has  many  names.  They  are  all  un- 
speakably precious  to  His  people.  Each  namo  is  a  reve- 
lation of  some  new  element  in  Ilis  glorious  character. 
What  is  til  is  new  name  ?  "Who  can  tell  ?  He  has  many 
names  in  this  Book  ;  among  them  we  have  "  The  Word 
of  God,"  "  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords,"  but  these 
are  not  the  "  new  name."  The  name  is  not  merely  one 
bat  is  new  now,  but  one  that  will  be  new  in  the  day  of 
iiiial  triumph.  Another  mysterious  name  will  be  re- 
vealed ;  other  elements  of  character  will  be  displayed, 
and  the  redeemed  will  have  fresh  cause  for  gratitude  and 
joy.  Professor  Plumptre  mentions  a  suggestion  made 
to  him  by  Eev.  W.  Reid,  of  Edinburgh,  as  to  the  new 
name.     By  an  inductive  method  of  inquiry  he  finds  that 


THE  SEVEN   *' OVEUCOMETHS.*' 


70 


this  Book  itfielf  contains  a  title  vvliich  had  not  been  used 
before,  strictly  speakiiij^,  as  a  title  of  Christ.  TIiih  word 
is  used  in  not  less  than  twenty-eight  passages  in  the  Book 
— **  the  Lamb."  fie  goes  on  to  say  that  the  name  is 
raised  to  a  co-ordinate  rank  with  God.  ''  So  used,  the 
name  gathered  up  into  itself  the  humiliation  and  the 
glory,  the  sacrifice  and  the  exultation,  the  meekness  and 
the  gentleness  of  Christ,  and  became  in  very  deed  a 
name  which  is  above  every  name."  We  do  not  krjow. 
For  the  present  this  is  an  incommunicable  name.  No 
man  by  searching  can  find  out  its  mystery  ;  no  man  is 
now  capable  of  receiving  it.  The  day  is  coming  when 
it  shall  be  known.  Glorious  as  are  Christ's  ])reciou8 
names  to  us  now,  there  will  be  a  fuller  revelation.  Now 
we  are  the  sons  and  daughters  of  God  ;  we  know  not 
what  we  shall  be,  but  we  know  that  we  shall  see  II im  as 
He  is,  and  be  like  Ilim,  and  this  beatific  vision  of  our 
Lord  will  voice  itself  in  a  name  which  shall  express  the 
new  glory  of  this  new  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
thought  is  entrancing.  Oh  Christian,  how  exalted  are 
your  privileges,  how  glorious  your  hopes,  and  how  inde- 
scribable will  be  your  realizations  in  the  heavenly  glory  ! 
Blessed  Jesus,  give  us  foretastes  now  of  the  fulness  which 
awaits  us  ! 

THE  LAODICEAN   '*  OVERCOMETII. " 

T.  We  now  come  to  the  last  and  the  best  "  overeom- 
eth."  Christ  always  keeps  the  best  wine  for  the  last  of 
the  feast.  Ho  has  been  preparing  us  for  this  glorious 
climax.  He  swept  us  on  to  His  temple  in  the  last  letter, 
but  now  He  carries  us  to  His  throne.  **  To  him  that 
overcometli  I  will  grant  to  sit  with  Me  in  My  throne, 
even  as  I  also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  My 
Father  in  His  throne.''     This  is  the  most  glorious  of  all 


11 


80 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


li 


the  promises,  and  it  is  to  the  victor  in  the  worst  of  all 
the  churches — the  Laodicean.  In  this  letter  we  have  the 
severest  rebukes  and  the  tenderest  invitations  ;  unsparing 
severity  and  yearning  tenderness  go  side  by  side.  This 
combination  is  characteristic  of  John  in  his  gospel,  his 
epistles,  and  in  all  the  traditions  ;  it  is  equally  character- 
istic of  Jesus.  It  must  ever  be  so  in  great  natures  ;  it 
is  not  incompatible.  Where  love  is  strongest,  reproof 
must  be  severest.  Christ  wounds  and  heals  ;  so  must 
truth  and  love.  To  the  worst  Church  is  made  the  grand- 
est promise  ;  there  is  hope  in  repentance  even  for  the 
worst.  It  is  significant  to  have  this  glorious  promis^ 
come  here,  when  we  remember  the  character  of  this 
Church. 

Clhrist  often  expressed  this  thought  during  His  early 
life  :  *'  Father,  I  will  that  they  also  whom  Thou  hast 
given  Me,  be  with  Me  where  I  am."  This  promise  is 
wonderful ;  it  is  high,  we  cannot  attain  unto  it.  Before 
it  reason  staggers  and  imagination  retires.  This  last 
promise  outstrips  and  overlaps  them  all.  To  the  apostles 
was  the  promise  that  they  should  sit  on  thrones,  judging 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  ;  but  here  is  a  promise  to  the 
humblest  believer  that  he  shall  sit  with  Ciirist  on  His 
throne.  Oriental  thrones  were  largo  ;  tliey  had  room  for 
several.  In  Christ's  heart  there  is  room  for  every  re- 
turning sinner  ;  on  Christ's  throne  there  is  room  for 
every  redeemed  sinner.  Tliib  highest  place  is  wit^rin 
reach  of  the  lowest  child  of  Adam.  Farther  we  cannot 
go.  More  than  this  God  could  neither  say  nor  do.  The 
series  must  end  here.  The  Eternal  has  exhausted  Him- 
self. Could  He  do  more  ?  Can  you  imagine  anything 
beyond  ?  Tell  me,  what  more  could  God  do  for  you  ? 
The  thought  of  this  glory  is  overwhelming.  Oh  to  lie  at 
Jesus'  feet  would  be  heaven  ;  to  see  ^*  the  King  in  His 


.J  <■ 


THE   SEVEN    "  OVELCOMETHS. 


)> 


81 


beauty,"  even  at  a  great  distance,  would  be  heaven  ;  but 
to  sit  on  His  throne — it  is  too  much  ;  we  have  no  thought 
to  conceive,  far  less  language  to  express  this  indescrib- 
able honor.  Christ  so  loves  us  that  He  longs  for  us  to 
be  by  Ilis  side  ;  He  longs  to  show  us  His  glory.  When 
He  was  on  earth  men  could  not,  would  not,  see  His 
glory.  Oh  Christ,  Thou  shalt  see  of  the  travail  of  Thy 
soul,  and  Thou  shalt  be  satisfied  ;  we  shall  see  Thy  glory, 
and  awake  in  Thy  likeness,  and  we  shall  be  satisfied. 
"  Even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus." 

Remember  now,  as  we  close,  that  only  '*  to  him  that 
overcometh"  are  these  promises  applicable.  Christ  is 
enthroned  with  the  Father,  because  He  overcame.  Wo 
are  to  be  enthroned  with  Christ  if  wo  overcome.  This 
word  ^'  overcome"  has  great  prominence  here.  It  has 
all  through  John's  writings.  To  "  overcome' '  the  wicked 
one  was  to  give  his  young  men  their  proudest  eulogy. 
Again  he  says,  "  that  which  is  born  of  God  '  overcom- 
eth '  the  woild  ;"  and  *'  this  is  tlie  victory  th'.t  '  over- 
cometh '  the  world,  even  our  faith."  You  look  in  vain 
in  the  writings  of  others  for  this  word  in  this  sense,  and 
with  such  frequency.  Did  I  say  it  was  John's  word  ? 
Bather  say  it  is  Jesus'  word.  He  now  gave  it  to  John  ; 
and  it  is  now  tlie  echo  of  His  own  word  when  in  the 
flesh,  ''  I  have  '  overcome  '  the  world."  Luther  said  it 
was  worth  going  from  Rome  to  Jerusalem  on  one's  knees 
to  'ind  that  text.  These  words  have  given  strength  and 
co\rage  to  eveiy  Christian  soldier  ;  Ciirist,  the  Captain 
of  our  salvation,  has  overcome  :  so  mav  we.  Satan  is 
more  than  a  match  for  us  ;  he  is  less  than  a  match  for 
Jesus.  Men  and  women,  you  can  overcome  ;  you  must 
overcome.  I  summon  you  to  the  conflict  ;  I  promise 
you  the  victory  in  our  victorious  Christ.  On,  on,  to  the 
fight.      Once  young   men   overcame   the   vricked   one. 


!    i 


I   -S! 


82 


CHRIST,    AND   IIIM   CRUCIFIED. 


They  stood  where  Adain  fell.  Let  the  zephyrs  whisper 
it ;  let  the  tornadoes  thunder  it.  Before  this  victory 
the  glories  of  Alexander  and  Caesar  fade  and  disappear. 
Enlist  now  under  the  banner  of  Christ ;  and  then,  at  the 
last,  you  and  1,  having  come  off  more  than  conquerors 
through  Him  that  loved  us,  shall—oh  unspeakable  bliss 
—sit  down  with  Christ  on  His  throne  ! 


i 


vr. 


CHRIST  A  LIVING  STONE. 


"To  whom  ooming,  as  unto  a  living  stone,  disallowed  indeed  of 
men,  but  chosen  of  God,  and  precious." — 1  Petfb  2  : 4. 

We  have  in  this  verso  a  striking  description  of  our 
adorable  Redeemer.  The  term  ^'  living  stone"  is  appro- 
priate to  Christ,  because  He  hath  hfe  in  Himself,  and 
He  is  the  Author  of  all  life.  He  diffuses  and  sustains 
life.  He  laid  down  His  life,  and  He  took  it  up  again  ; 
no  man  had  power  to  take  it  from  Him.  This  preroga- 
tive He  received  from  His  Father.  He  is  the  conqueror 
of  death.  He  not  only  gives  resurrection  and  life  ;  He 
is  "  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life." 


CHRIST   THE    SURE    FOUNDATION. 

The  first  thought,  then,  suggested  by  this  text  is  that 
Christ,  a  "living  stone,"  is  the  foundation  of  all  our 
hopes  for  time  and  for  eternity.  Without  Christ  the 
Bible  is  meaningless,  without  Christ  the  world  is  hope- 
less, without  Christ  heaven  is  charmless.  You  might 
as  well  have  a  summer  without  a  gleam  of  light,  without 
the  smell  of  flowers,  or  the  song  of  a  bird,  as  have  a  life 
without  Jesus  Christ.  Yon  might  as  well  have  a  year 
without  a  summer,  nothing  but  bleakness,  barrenness, 
and  death,  as  to  have  a  life  without  Jesus  Christ.  You 
might  as  well  have  a  night  without  a  morning,  as  to  live 
in  this  world  and  die  and  be  buried  without  Jesus  Christ. 
1  do  not  know  what  iiinn  do  who  have  no  Haviour  ;  I  do 


84 


CIIKIST,    AND    HIM    CllUCIFIED. 


m 


Kg, J 


not  know  of  what  they  speak,  when  they  do  not  speak 
of  Christ ;  I  do  not  know  of  what  they  think  if  Christ 
is  not  in  all  their  thoughts.  Christ  is  the  glory  of  the 
world  ;  Ho  is  the  bliss  of  heaven.  Christ  is  the  Alpha 
and  Omega,  in  revelation,  in  creation,  and  in  redemp- 
tion. Christ  spoke  and  there  was  light  ;  without  Ilim 
was  not  anything  made  that  was  made.  Christ  gives 
significanoe,  beauty,  and  glory  to  the  entire  Bible.  We 
are  told  of  a  shield  that  was  made  in  ancient  times  ;  and 
the  maker  so  wrought  his  name  into  the  substance  of  it, 
that,  in  order  to  remove  the  name,  the  shield  would  have 
to  be  destroyed.  So  the  name  of  Christ  is  written  into 
the  revelation  of  God,  from  the  first  majestic  words  of 
Genesis,  to  the  last  love-notes  of  Kevelation  ;  and  in 
order  to  remove  Christ's  name  and  glory,  you  must  de- 
stroy this  revelation  of  God.  Precisely  so  is  it  to  the 
reverent  eye  and  ear  in  God's  Book  of  creation.  Tlie 
thoughtful  student  sees  Christ's  name,  sees  Christ's 
handiwork  all  over  the  creation  of  God.  He  may  not, 
perhaps,  go  so  far  as  did  Hugh  Miller,  when  he  declared 
that  he  found  the  cross  in  the  rock  ;  but  he  may  find 
the  truth  symbolized  by  that  cross  all  over  the  works  of 
God's  hand. 

It  has  been  said  that  '*  an  undevout  astronomer  is 
mad."  We  may  say  that  all  undevout  scientists  are 
mad.  There  can  be  no  true  science  which  excludes  Jesus 
Christ.  You  might  as  well  speak  of  the  astronomy  of 
the  world  and  leave  out  the  sun,  as  speak  of  history,  phi- 
losophy, and  creation,  and  leave  out  Jesus  Christ.  In 
Christ  and  in  Him  alone,  the  real  and  the  ideal  meet. 
There  is  a  great  difference  between  a  man's  actual  and  a 
man's  ideal.  The  ideal  must  be  high,  the  real  often 
falls  iiw  below  the  ideal.  As  are  a  man's  ideals,  so,  to  a 
great  extent,  shall  the  man  be.     He  can  never  attain  to 


CHRIST    A    LIVIN^O    STON'K. 


85 


his  ideal — it  is  up  among  the  stars  ;  and  in  his  highest 
flight  he  may  only  overtop  the  trees  ;  the  ideal  gleams 
and  glitters  heyond.  But  in  Jesus  Christ  the  real  and 
the  ideal  are  one  ;  his  ideal  is  realized.  Christ  was  the 
perfect,  the  symmetrical  Man.  The  idea  of  His  per- 
sonality underlies  all  His  revelation.  "We  do  not  believe 
simply  in  the  salvation  which  He  has  made  possible,  but 
in  Him  as  the  living,  personal  Saviour  ;  not  simply  in 
the  deliverance  which  He  bestows,  but  in  Himself  as 
tlie  great  and  divine  Deliverer  ;  not  simply  in  a  perfect 
and  purchased  redemption,  but  in  Him  as  the  perfect 
and  purchasing  Redeemer.  This  personal  element  in 
Christ's  religion  is  one  element  of  its  glory.  He  has 
given  us  Himself.  We  do  not  pin  our  faith  to  a  state- 
ment of  doctrine,  but  to  tlie  person  who  is  beyond  the 
doctrine.  Thus  it  comes  to  r>assthat  Christ's  personality 
lies  beneath  and  is  above  and  around  the  Word  of  God, 
the  Church  of  God,  and  our  own  individual  experience. 
Christ,  then,  is  the  true  centre  of  redeemed  humanity. 
No  man  may  lay  claim  to  the  possession  of  the  highest 
attributes  of  manhood  if  he  is  not  a  believer  in  tlie  Son 
of  God.  No  man  may  lay  claim  to  the  loftiest  character- 
istics of  intellectual  culture,  if  he  is  not  a  believer  in 
Jesus  Christ.  You  ought  to  hide  your  head  with  shame, 
if  you  turn  your  back  on  the  Son  of  God.  You,  perhaps, 
love  beauty  in  art  and  music  ;  Christ  is  the  Micarnation 
of  beauty  of  character  in  all  its  symmetry  and  glory. 
How,  then,  can  you  turn  your  back  upon  Jesus  Christ  ? 
You — men  and  women — take  the  crown  of  exalted  man- 
hood and  womanhood  from  your  own  brows,  when  you 
refuse  to  bow  head  and  heart  at  the  pierced  feet  of  the 
Son  of  God.  Christ  is  the  foundation  of  all  our  hopes 
for  time  and  for  eternity.  Oh  build  on  this  divine 
foundation  !     All  other  foundations  are  sinking  sand. 


80 


CHRIST,    AND   IIIM   CRUCIFIED. 


CHRIST   REJECTED   BY   MANY. 


[Pi 


The  second  truth  taught  us  by  this  Scripture  is  that 
men  in  general  refuse,  reject  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God.  The  Apostle  Peter  was  an  honest  man.  He  was 
familiar  with  the  tendency  of  thought  among  the  people 
of  whom  himself  was  a  part.  He  knew  the  conclusions 
reached  by  the  great  majority  of  his  kinsmen  according 
to  the  flesh  ;  he  feels  bound,  as  an  honest  man,  to  de- 
clare that  men  generally  reject  Jesus  Christ.  This  is 
clearly  taught  us  in  the  text,  "  To  whom  coming,  as  unto 
a  living  stone,  disallowed  indeed  of  men."  This,  I  say, 
he  felt  bound  frankly  to  confess.  He  will  avow  the 
shame  and  humiliation  of  the  cross  ;  he  m\\  not  only 
avow  it,  but  he  will  glory  in  it.  Men  despise  and  reject 
Christ.  This  has  been  seen  all  along  the  line  of  revela- 
tion. This  was  clearly  foretold  by  Isaiah  more  than 
seven  hundred  years  before  Christ  was  born.  He  tells 
us  that  "  He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men  ;  a  Man  of 
sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief,  and  we  hid,  as  it 
were,  our  faces  from  Him.  "  He  tells  us  also  that 
*'  He  shall  grow  up  before  Him  as  a  tender  plant,  and  as 
a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground  ;"  that  ''  He  hath  no  form 
nor  comeliness."  What  Isaiah  foretold  was  literally  ful- 
filled in  the  event  of  Christ's  birth.  He  was  rejected  in 
the  inn  ;  He  filled  a  cradle  in  the  manger,  but  even  then 
the  glory  of  His  character  was  seen.  A  star  marked  a 
n3w  pathway  in  the  sky  to  honor  the  infant  Redeemer. 
Shepherds,  watcliing  their  flocks  by  night,  heard  the 
sweetest  mnsic  that  earth  has  ever  known,  on  the  night 
that  Christ  was  born,  when  angels  chanted  His  birth- 
song  ;  and  wise  men  from  the  East  brought  their  treas- 
ures of  gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrli  and  laid  them  at 


CHRIST   A    LIVING   STONE. 


87 


Hi8  feet.     Herod  felt  his  throne  totter  beneath  him. 
This  is  marvellous  I 

Christ  has  always  divided  the  world.  He  reveals  char- 
acter ;  He  makes  men  declare  them8elv.e8  ;  Ho  is  the 
touchstone  that  draws  worth  and  develops  worthlessness. 
Come  near  to  Christ,  and  if  you  have  the  elements  of 
nobility  you  will  be  drawn  toward  Hiin,  if  you  arc 
■worthless  you  will  hate  Him.  There  never  was  such  a 
power  in  this  universe  as  Christ  and  His  holy  religion  to 
develop  these  contradictory  elements  in  the  human  race. 
He  has  gone  through  the  world  as  an  incarnate  con- 
science ;  still,  He  is  ever  drawing  poor  penitents  to  Ilim- 
Belf,  bringing  them  out  of  the  lowest  dregs  of  society. 
Penitents  who  have  tears  to  wash  His  feet,  and  hair  to 
wipe  them — His  benediction  was  upon  such.  Christ 
aroused  the  bitterest  wrath  of  the  Pharisees.  lie  has 
evoked  the  tenderest  love  and  the  bitterest  hate,  lie 
was  no  negative  force  in  the  world.  When  Ciirist  caine 
there  were  more  active  demons  than  ever  beton?  in  the 
world.  We  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  legions  were 
cast  out  of  a  single  man.  And  jiiBt  In  pr()[M>rLion  as 
Christ  is  prominent  in  a  man's  life  shall  all  the  elements 
of  evil  be  aroused  to  oppose  His  indwellini!;.  This  is  in- 
evitable. Men  rejected  Him  at  His  birth  ;  men  cleaved 
to  Him  at  His  birth.  He  separated  them.  He  drew 
them  with  cords  of  love  stronger  than  hooks  of  stcuil,  or 
drove  them  from  Him  because  they  would  not  endure 
His  purity  and  power.  This  w^as  seen  all  through  His 
life.  His  entrance  upon  Hia  public  ministry  was  in  per- 
fect harmony  with  His  entrance  into  the  world.  His 
birth  into  the  Church  was  in  sympathy  with  His  birth 
in  the  manger.  Even  His  family  did  not  believe  in 
Him  ;  they  found  it  hard  to  recognize  in  Him  the  Mes- 
siah of  prophecy. 


,1    I 


88 


CHIIIST,    AND    HIM    rUUCIFIED. 


And  Christ  is  Btill  dividing  men  into  two  classes.  He 
lias  taught  us  that  **ho  who  is  not  with  Mo  is  against 
Me."  I  could  go  through  this  audience  and  pick  out 
men  and  women  who  love  Ilim  more  than  all  besides, 
more  than  projjerty,  more  than  husband  or  wife,  more 
than  mother,  or  father,  or  child,  more  than  life  itself. 
1  speak  the  truth  ;  there  sit  in  these  pews  men  and 
women  who  would  walk  into  yonder  street  and  lay  their 
heads  on  the  block  for  Jesus  ;  who  would  stand  by  the 
stake  while  fagot  was  lighting  and  flames  were  kindling  ; 
men  and  women  from  whose  lips  would  come  songs  of 
joy  and  shouts  of  victory  as  they  marched  to  the  block 
or  the  stake.  Not  long  ago  two  gentlemen  were  attend- 
ing service  as  you  are  this  morning.  On  their  return 
from  church,  one  said  to  the  other,  "  What  do  you  think 
of  Him  ?"  The  other  answered,  "  I  thought  he  was 
l^retty  dull."  Then  the  first  said,  "  I  was  not  speaking 
of  the  preacher  ;  I  was  speaking  of  his  and  my  Lord. 
What  did  God  say  from  the  clouds  regarding  His  Son  ? 
^  Hear  ye  Ilim.^  I  was  speaking  of  n.iui.  He  is  to  mo 
the  ^  chiefest  among  ten  thousand,  the  One  altogether 
lovely.'  What  do  you  think  of  Him  ?"  That  man  was 
obliged  to  reply  :  '^1  have  never  given  serious  thought 
to  the  subject."  He  has  his  representatives  in  this  audi- 
ence. ' '  What  think  ye  of  Christ  ?  "  This  is  the  greatest 
question  of  time  or  eternity.  That  man  is  standing  on 
holy  ground  who  is  brought  face  to  face  with  Jesus 
Christ  and  with  his  own  duty  regarding  the  Son  of  God. 
If  that  duty  has  never  been  pressed  upon  you  l^efore,  I 
press  it  upon  you  this  morning.  What  think  y//u  of 
Christ  ?  I  ask  you,  men  ;  I  ask  you,  women.  I  put  this 
before  you  ;  you  must  settle  this  question,  What  will  you 
do  with  Jesus  this  morning  ? 

Perhaps  there  are  those  who  positively  reject  Him. 


, 


I 


CHIIIST   A    LIVIXO   STOXK. 


89 


It  seems  incredible  !  Why  do  you  reject  Christ  ?  What 
is  there  in  Jesus  that  has  led  you  to  come  to  that  con- 
clusion ?  How  would  you  have  Jesus  differ  in  order  that 
you  might  accept  Ilim  ?  I  think  that  is  a  fair  question. 
I  have  a  right  to  put  that  qnestion  to  you.  Give  God  an 
honest  answer.  Will  you  tell  me  one  thing  in  the  whole 
life  of  Christ  which  makes  llini  obnoxious  to  your  love 
and  faith  ?  Was  lie  not  holiness  itself  ?  Was  lie  not 
the  Champion  of  purity  ?  When  all  men  dragged  woman 
in  the  dust,  did  not  Christ  stand  for  her  ?  Did  He  not 
stand  for  humanity,  freedom,  and  right  ?  Did  He  not 
take  children  into  His  arms  and  bless  them  ?  Is  lie  not 
the  representative  of  all  that  is  noblest  in  the  mind  and 
the  heart  ?  lias  not  the  whole  world  put  the  crown  of 
perfect  humanity  upon  the  brow  of  the  Son  of  Mary — 
the  Son  of  God  ?  I  ask  you  for  which  of  these  things 
do  you  condemn  Jesus  Christ  ?  Come  to  me  at  the  close 
of  this  service  and  tell  me  for  which  of  these  things  you 
condemn  Jesus  Christ.  Tell  me,  if  you  can,  what  He 
lacked  in  order  to  secure  your  faith — what  He  possessed 
v/liich  makes  it  impossible  for  you  to  believe  iii  Ilim  ? 
I  beseech  you  by  all  that  is  sacred  and  noble,  be  not  of 
those  by  whom  "  lie  is  disallowed. 


?) 


A  STARTTJNG  C0NTRA8T. 

Now,  I  ask  you  to  observe,  still  further,  that  we  have 
brought  out  here  a  startling  contrast — God's  judgment 
of  Christ  as  compared  with  that  of  men.  "  Disallowed, 
indeed,  of  men,  but  chosen  of  God  and  precious,''  or 
honorable,  as  we  have  it  in  the  New  Version.  Here, 
then,  is  God's  judgment  of  Christ,  as  distinguished  from 
the  decisions  of  men.  God  knew  Him,  and  He  knew  God 
as  it  is  impossible  for  men  to  know  Him  ;  and  this  is  the 
judgment  which  God  here  gives.     It  was  quite  a  com- 


90 


CHIIIST,    AND   HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


mon  thing  for  Peter  to  contrast  the  treatment  which 
Christ  received  from  men  with  tlie  treatment  He  received 
from  God.    In  one  of  his  sermons  in  connection  witli 
Pentecost,    he  says,  **  Whom  ye   crucified  and  slew  ; 
wliom  God  raised  from  the  dead. ' '     This  statement  hero 
is  quite  in  harmony  with  the  line  of  thought  wliich  the 
apostle  often   pursues,  bringing  into  striking  contrast 
God's  treatment  and  man's.     God  chose  Ilim  from  all 
eternity  •  He  was  elect ;  He  was  precious,  honorable. 
Oh,  how  God  loved  His  only  begotten  Son  !     I  may  not 
enter  upon  this  profound  mystery  !    I  may  not  go  into 
that  region,  dark  by  excess  of  light !    But  I  do  know 
that  when  John,  who  pillowed  his  head  upon  the  bosom 
of  Jesus,  speaks  about  the  Son  having  dwelt  in  tlio  bosom 
of  the  Father,  he  meant  much.    There  have  been  tender 
relationships  between  God  the  Father  and  God  the  Son 
from  all  eternity.     It  has  been  supposed  that  in  that 
statement  in  Genesis  where  we  have  it,  '*  Let  us  make 
man,"  there  was  a  conference  on  the  part  of  the  Triune 
God,  in  reference  to  the  creation  of  man.     I  would  not 
give  the  passage  as  proof  of  the  Trinity,  but  only  as  a 
hint.     Similar  hints  are  scattered  all  along  tlie  Old  Testa- 
ment narrative.     I  do  not  know  that  it  is  possible  for 
God  to  be,  if  He  have  not  objects  of  love.     Love  must 
have  an  opportunity  of  manifesting  itself  ;  it  must  have 
objects  on  which  to  rest.     Well,  I  think  you  ought  to 
take  Christ  at  God's  estimate  ;  you  ought  to  give  Christ 
the  honor  which  God  the  Father  gives  Him.     In  the 
eternal  councils,  God  chose  Hi  in  ;  in  the  fulness  of  time 
He  came  as  a  child,  and  then  dwelt  as  a  man  among 
men.     He  had  come  before  ;  tliere  were  temporary  in- 
carnations before,   but  this  was  the  incarnation.     The 
human  race  was  to  be  uplifted.     It  is  a  marvellous  fact 
that  God  tabernacled  among:  men. 


CHRIST   A   UVIN()   STONR. 


M 


God  loved  Him.  TIere  comes  in  tho  mystery  of  the 
crofls — that  God  should  have  turned  away  His  face.  It 
is  certain  that  Christ  never  was  so  dear,  and  yet  God 
withdrew  His  face  from  Him.  God  hates  sin.  Ho 
ninst  show  His  displeasure  and  wrath  wherever  sin  Ih 
found  ;  and  so  He  hid  His  face  from  His  beloved  Son. 
In  that  act  I  see  more  of  the  love  of  God  than  I  can  see 
displayed  elsewhere  in  all  the  revelation  He  luis  made. 
"Why  should  you  not  give  Him  the  honor  which  God 
does  ? 

COMING  TO  CHRIST. 

And  now,  will  you  let  me  close  by  sirrply  saying,  that  in 
order  to  receive  the  blessing  of  Christ's  life,  we  luust  come 
to  Him.  "To  whom  coming  as  unto  a  living  stone." 
We  see  that  "  as  unto''  is  in  italics  ;  in  the  Revised 
Version  both  words  are  omitted.  It  is  not  "  as  a  living 
stone,"  but  this — "  to  whom  coming,  a  living  stone  ;" 
and  in  order  that  your  feet  may  rest  upon  that  stone, 
you  must  place  them  there.  Perhaps  you  simply  resist 
this  power  ;  you  have  felt  it  drawing  you.  This  sermon 
is  one  of  the  influences  which  God  gives  to  draw  you  to 
His  Son.  You  have  been  holding  back  ;  you  have  been 
stiflf-necked,  refusing  to  submit.  God's  promise  includes 
God's  condition  ;  and  if  you  will  not  keep  the  condition, 
I  say  it  reverently,  you  make  it  impossible  for  God  to 
keep  the  promise.  Each  includes  the  other.  You  shall 
not  have  Christ  for  your  foundation  if  you  will  not  come. 
Come  this  morning.  Is  there  a  follower  of  Christ  in 
this  house  who  has  wandered  ?  come  back  now.  Per- 
haps like  Peter  you  have  been  tempted  ;  perhaps  the 
sneer  of  some  sceptic,  or  the  smile  of  some  foolish 
woman,  has  made  you  deny  your  Lord.  Perhaps,  in  the 
gray  dawn  of  some  chilly  morning,  you  have  gone  out 


I 


x; 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 
I.I 


12.5 


■^■2.8 

m  ^^  — 

■tt  IM   122 
S?  Ufi   12.0 


LU 


IL25  iu 


iiil 


1.6 


*" 


FhotograpJiic 

ScMioes 

Carporatian 


4^ 


33  VnST  MANH  STRKT 

«vnSTII,N.Y.  I45M 

(716)  •73-4503 


^^    ^\.  ^Pr\\ 


\ 


CHRIST,    AND   IIIM   CRUCIFIED. 


denying  Him,  but  weeping  bitterly.  Come  back  to  Him 
this  morning,  and  He  will  graciously  receive  and  abun- 
dantly pardon  you. 

Perhaps  there  are  some  who  have  never  come.  You 
must  seek  Jesus  Christ  today.  Come  to  Him  that  you 
may  know  Him  us  your  personal  Saviour.  These  sum- 
mer congregations  are  to  me  a  great  joy  and  a  great  re- 
sponsibility. I  have  the  opportunity,  in  the  Providence 
of  God,  to  speak  to  those  I  am  not  accustomed  to  ad- 
dress ;  you  are  here  from  many  States  of  our  Union. 
This  congregation  now  met,  will  never  meet  just  the 
same  again.  You  come,  you  go.  We  shall  meet  at  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ.  Oh,  if  you  reject  Him  now, 
He  must  reject  you  then  !  This  may  be  the  turning- 
point.  If  you  say,  depart,  now  ;  He  must  say,  depart, 
then.     God  forbid,  for  Jesus'  sake. 


YII. 
NOT  WEARY  IN  WELL-DOING. 


' '  And  let  as  not  be  weary  in  well-doing  :  for  in  due  season  \/e  shall 
reap,  if  we  faint  not." — Gal.  6  : 9. 

Three  different  nations  or  tribes  inhabited  Galatia. 
Their  heathenism  had  been  of  a  peculiarly  gross  and  de- 
basing kind.  Tall  and  imposing  in  person,  and  impetu- 
ous in  their  attacks,  they  were  dangerous  foes  ;  but  they 
formed  a  special  attachment  to  the  Apostle  Paul,  who 
had,  as  it  would  seem,  first  preached  the  Gospel  to  them. 
Their  first  love  to  him  r.nd  to  the  truth  was  ardent  and 
demonstrative.  They  were  ready,  the  apostle  reminds 
them,  to  pluck  out  their  eyes  and  to  give  them  to  him, 
if  that  were  possible  ;  but  he  also,  in  a  tone  of  mingled 
authority  and  sorrow,  expresses  his  wonder  that  they 
were  so  soon  drawn  away  to  another  gospel  than  that 
which  he  had  preached.  They  were  warm-hearted  but 
fickle.  They  needed  the  word  of  rebuke  and  encourage- 
ment implied  in  the  text.  In  our  need  of  this  word  wo 
are  all  Galatians.  We  run  well  for  a  season,  and  then 
we  hesitate,  droop,  and  loiter.  Let  us  take  these  instruc- 
tive and  encouraging  words  as  our  own  to-day. 

AN    INSPIRED    STANDARD. 

r 

1.  We  have  here  an  inspired  standard  for  a  noble  life 
— *' well-doing.''  Many  never  attempt  to  come  up  to 
this  standard.  Such  a  thought  has  never  suggested  itself 
to  their  minds.     There  are  thousands  in  all  our  cities 


94 


CIIUIST,    AND   HIM   CllUCIFIED. 


who  were  born  in  sinful  and  wretched  homes,  and  whose 
companions  and  surroundings  all  tended  to  drag  them 
down  ;  they  have  scarcely  known  a  pure  thought,  felt  a 
noble  aspiration,  or  made  even  one  effort  in  the  direction 
of  well-doing.  Such  people  are  to  be  blamed  ;  they  are 
to  be  pitied  also.  E'lt  go  higher  iip  in  the  scale  of  life, 
and  you  may  find  the  same  absence  of  such  a  standard. 
There  are  homes  in  which  wealth  abounds,  and  culture 
is  possessed,  and  yet  there  is  no  thought  of  well-doing. 
Self  is  supreme.  As  compared  with  that  of  the  former 
class,  this  is  doubtless  a  refined  selfishness  ;  but  it  is 
nevertheless  selfishness,  and  selfishness  is  the  essence  of 
sin.  Living  for  self  is  abominable  idolatry.  The  man 
who  BO  lives  is  dead  while  he  lives. 

!N^o  doubt  all  of  us  fall  far  below  this  lofty  standard 
given  by  Paul.  There  never  was  but  one  life  which 
perfectly  reached  this  standard.  What  a  suggestive  de- 
scription we  have  of  Christ  where  it  is  said  of  Him  **  Who 
went  about  doing  good  I"  This  simple  and  sublime  de- 
scription brings  before  us  a  picture  of  unceasing  activity 
and  unchanging  benevolence.  This  element  in  Christ's 
life  gives  Ilim  power  even  to  this  hour.  Good  deeds 
never  die.  Those  who  imitate  the  example  of  Christ  in 
well-doing  may  for  a  time  be  despised  and  rejected,  but 
eventually  they  will  receive  tlieir  reward.  It  is  still  true 
that  "  the  righteous  shall  be  in  everlasting  remem- 
brance.." The  names  of  the  three  noble  Hebrews  who 
for  truth  and  for  God  went  into  the  fiercely-heated  fur- 
nace are  written  forever  on  the  sacred  page.  The  names 
of  "  the  most  mighty  men"  who  cast  them  into  the  fur- 
nace were  never  recorded  ,  the  furious  flames  **  slew" 
tlieir  persons.  **  The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed  ; 
but  the  name  of  the  wicked  shall  rot. " 

Although  we  may  not  reach  the  high  standard  which 


NOT  WEARY   IN   WELL-DOING. 


95 


Paul  gives  us,  and  which  Christ  ilhistrated,  it  is  well  to 
aim  for  it.  Emerson,  in  a  very  Emersonian  phrase, 
says,  "  Young  man,  hitch  your  wagon  to  a  star."  We 
catch  his  meaning.  It  is  good  advice.  In  the  Royal 
Gallery  at  Dresden,  that  gallery  so  rich  in  the  triumphs 
of  art,  is  the  matchless  Madonna  of  Eaphael.  An  entire 
room  is  devoted  to  that  wonderful  creation  of  genius. 
For  hours  students  and  lovers  of  art  gaze  upon  it.  They 
depart  but  to  return  and  gaze  again  on  this  master-piece. 
1^0  artist  can  hope  to  approach,  far  less  to  excel  it ; 
but  it  is  a  constant  inspiration  to  every  true  student  to 
loftier  endeavors.  No  sculptor  expects  to  rival  Prax- 
iteles, but  even  the  traditions  of  the  immortal  Greek  give 
enthusiasm  to  his  humblest  imitator.  Let  us  aim  at  the 
stars,  and  we  may  hit  the  tree-tops.  This  endeavor 
brings  joy.  We  have  too  much  exaggerated  the  trials 
of  the  Christian  life.  We,  as  Christians,  need  give  up 
only  what  it  is  harmful  to  keep.  We  give  up  what  the 
sick  man  gives  up  when  the  flush  of  health  again  mantles 
his  cheek.  We  give  up  what  the  prisoner  does  when 
the  prison-door  is  thrown  open,  and  he  breathes  again 
the  air  of  freedom.  There  is  joy  in  this  lofty  aim. 
The  Christian  looks  to  the  end  of  his  course  for  his  full 
reward,  but  he  has  a  glorious  reward  in  peace  and  love 
even  here.  Many  a  transgressor  finds  his  way  through 
sin  to  death  and  perdition  tenfold  harder  than  does  the 
Christian  in  striving  to  follow  Christ  in  well-doing. 
Life  is  short,  but  it  determines  our  eternity.  It  projects 
itself  into  an  unending  future.  Short  as  is  a  cannon,  its 
direction  when  discharged  determines  the  course  of  the 
ball.  Only  "  well-doing "  here  receives  the  **  well- 
done  "  there. 

"  He  lives  who  lives  to  Grod  alone, 
And  all  are  dead  beside." 


96 


CHKIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


A  DANGER  SUGGESTED. 

2.  Tlio  apostle  suggests  a  clanger  to  wliich  we  are  ex- 
posed— "  Let  us  not  be  weary  in  well-doing."  We  are 
all  liable  to  weariness  in  doing  good.  The  intirmities  of 
the  flesh  often  make  us  weary.  We  are  in  the  body. 
We  are  of  the  earth,  earthy.  We  are  subject  to  the 
limitations  and  conditions  of  our  earthly  life.  Here,  as 
everywhere,  the  example  of  Christ  is  helpful.  He  knows 
what  weariness  means  ;  He  has  felt  the  same.  No  labor- 
ing man  was  ever  more  exhausted  th?4n  was  Jesus  when 
He  laid  His  head  upon  the  pillow  in  the  hinder  part  of 
the  ship  and  slept.  A  sleeping  Christ  !  How  marvel- 
lous the  thought  !  It  had  been  a  day  of  exciting  and  ex- 
hausting toil  with  Jesus,  whichever  view  of  the  incident, 
and  its  place  in  the  narrative,  we  may  take.  Jesus  was 
physically  weary  in  well-doing  ;  and  He  slept,  although 
the  spray  may  have  dashed  into  His  face  and  bedewed 
His  hair.  He  slept,  although  fear  had  urmianned  the 
disciples  so  long  inured  to  the  dangers  of  the  lake.  Wo 
know  that  on  another  occasion  Christ  was  *'  wearied  with 
His  journey,"  and  He  '*  sat  thus" — tin  is  wearied — "  on 
the  well."  Still,  He  embraced  the  opportunity  to  talk 
to  the  sinful  woman  of  Samaria  of  the  water  of  life. 
Yes,  often  we  are  weary  in,  but  never  of,  the  work  to 
which  we  are  called. 

The  ingratitude  of  those  we  strive  to  help  is  another 
cause  of  weariness.  Ingratitude  is  as  common  as  it  is  de- 
testable. Almost  all  nations  have  voiced  their  sense  of 
the  sin  of  ingratitude  in  striking  proverbs  :  "  Eat  the 
present,  and  break  the  dish,"  says  the  Arabic  proverb. 
The  Spanish  says,  '*  Bring  up  a  raven,  and  it  will  peck 
out  your  eyes."  *'  Put  a  snake  in  your  bosom,  and 
when  it  is  warm  it  will  sting  you, "  says  the  English  prov- 


NOT   WEARY   IN"  WELL-DO' >fO. 


97 


erb.  The  world  is  ungrateful.  It  lives  on  God's 
bounty,  and  yet  refuses  to  own  His  power  or  to  accept 
His  love.  "  Where  are  the  nine  ?"  asked  Christ ;  and 
there  is  a  tone  of  indescribable  sadness  in  His  question. 
To  do  some  men  tlie  favor  they  solicit  is  to  malce  them 
ever  after  your  cold  friends  or  your  open  enemies. 
When  love  turns  to  hate,  no  hate  is  so  bitter.  It  is  said 
that  the  man  who  severed  Cicero's  head  from  his  body, 
the  leader  of  the  assassins,  was  one  whom  Cicero's  won- 
derful eloquence  had  successfully  defended,  when  on 
trial  for  the  murder  of  his  father.  "We  have  all  felt  the 
deadening  influence  of  ingratitude.  Our  warm  sym- 
pathy has  flowed  out  in  words  and  deeds  of  helpfulness, 
and  that  sympathy  has  been  so  chilled  by  the  ingratitude 
and  unworthiness  of  those  we  helped,  that  it  has  flowed 
back  to  paralyze  our  hearts.  But  we  must  do  good  from 
higher  motives  than  to  secure  the  gratitude  of  those  bene- 
fited. We  must  do  it  for  its  own  sake  and  for  Christ's 
sake.  He  laid  down  His  life  for  us  when  we  were  un- 
thankful. Thank  God,  there  are  some  who  are  grateful. 
"We  have  seen  the  tear  of  gratitude  tremble  in  the  eye, 
and  when  it  was  wiped  away  we  have  seen  the  light  of 
hope  sparkle  there.  A  word  of  kindness  has  banished 
from  some  weary  heart  and  sorrowful  home  weeks  of 
Badness,  and  has  opened  a  future  of  hopefulness.  Do 
not  become  morose.  Do  not  say  that  gratitude  is  a  for- 
gotten virtue.  A  cynic  is  almost  as  bad  as  an  ingrate. 
Indeed,  cynicism  and  ingratitude  are  kin  to  each  other. 
In  many  cases  your  words  and  deeds  of  well-doing  are 
bearing  precious  fruit  in  the  changed  homes  and  the  re- 
deemed lives  of  men,  women,  and  children,  who  shall 
rise  up  to  call  you  blessed. 

Our  apparent  want  of  success  is  another  cause  for 
weariness.     There  is  so  much  to  be  done,  that  we  are 


98 


CHUIST,    AND   niil    CRCCIFIEb. 


sometimes  disposed  to  give  up  in  despair.  Where  shall 
wo  l)L'giu  ?  How  can  we  do  anything  ?  Much  of  the 
labor  which  has  been  performed  seems  wadted.  Then 
there  is  so  much  opposition  to  contend  against.  Tliis 
opposition  often  coincs  from  tliose  wliom  wo  wish  to 
benefit,  to  lift  from  sin  to  holiness  and  heaven.  Some- 
times it  comes  from  cold-hearted  Christians.  It  is  so 
easy  to  criticise  ;  so  easy  to  charge  those  who  are  willing 
to  work  with  being  visionary,  impracticable,  fanatical. 
It  is  so  hard  to  help  men  who  have  no  sense  of  their  need 
of  our  help.  One  cannot  help  sometimes  remembering 
our  Lord's  words  about  casting  pearls  before  swine. 
City  authorities  oppose  you.  They  issued  some  time  ago 
their  orders  to  muzzle  dogs,  and  we  were  glad.  They 
still  license  saloons,  and  we  are  sorry  ;  for  while  the 
rabid  dog  may  occasionally  destroy  its  man,  the  death- 
dealing  saloon  destroys  its  thousands.  What  is  to  be 
done  with  the  great  masses  of  the  unchurched  ?  What 
can  be  done  to  prevent  the  shameful  desecration  of  God's 
holy  day  by  the  hundred  thousand  people  who  make  up 
the  Sunday  excursions  ?  And  even  of  those  who  attend 
the  house  of  God,  why  is  it  that  so  few  accept  the  offers 
of  the  Gospel  ?  There  are  times  when  we  cannot  help 
asking  such  questions.  Then,  again,  many  who  appar- 
ently have  accepted  Christ  run  well  for  a  season,  then 
fall  back  in,  or  entirely  out  of  the  Christian  race.  You 
have  seen  a  man  redeemed  from  his  cups  and  other 
vices.  Prayers  of  gratitude  for  his  deliverance  were 
offered  ;  songs  of  joy  were  sung.  You  have  seen  him 
again  in  his  place  in  business  and  society,  his  home  a 
paradise,  his  wife  radiant  with  joy,  and  his  children 
transformed  almost  beyond  recognition.  Your  own 
heart  leaps  for  joy.  You  glory  in  the  bliss  of  well-doing. 
Earth  is  to  you  a  foretaste  of  heaven.    You  almost  envy 


*i 


NOT  WEARY    IN   WELL-DOING. 


90 


^\ 


Christ,  because  it  was  always  in  Ilia  power  to  give  joy 
for  sorrow,  sight  for  blinJiiess,  health  for  sickness,  life 
for  death.  You  have  actually  hud  a  holy  jealousy  of 
Christ's  power.  How  glorious  life  is  to  you  !  But  one 
day  when  you  come  home,  this  man's  wife  meets  yon. 
Her  face  is  stained  with  tears,  her  eyes  are  red  with 
weeping,  her  heart  is  nearly  broken  with  sorrow.  She 
does  not  speak.  She  need  not.  You  know  the  story. 
Yes,  he  has  been  drinking  for  a  week.  He  is  a  demon. 
To  her  and  her  children  life  seems  hopeless,  and  death 
would  be  welcome.  Or,  perhaps,  it  is  a  disobedient 
son  or  an  infatuated  daughter  you  tried  to  save,  and 
with  equally  sad  results.  1  am  giving  history,  not 
ror/iance.  Tell  me,  Christian  worker,  have  you  not 
sometimes  been  so  weary  that  you  have  thought,  if  you 
have  not  said,  **  It  is  enough,  O  Lord.  I  give  up,  I  will 
never  try  again  ?"  Not  so  fast,  brother,  sister ;  be 
patient.    Have  you  done  your  duty  ?     Rest  there. 


AN  ENCOURAGING  PROMISE. 

3.  We  have  also  in  the  text  an  encouraging  promise. 
But  a  condition  is  also  suggested.  We  must  not  faint. 
Wo  must  persevere  to  the  end.  There  must  be  no  re- 
pining, no  retreating,  no  fainting.  We  enlist  for  life, 
for  eternity,  indeed.  The  dew  of  youth,  the  vigor  of 
manhood,  and  the  wisdom  of  age  must  be  consecrated  to 
well-doing.  It  is  **  to  them  who  by  patient  continuance 
in  well-doing  seek  for  glory,  and  honor,  and  immortal- 
ity,' '  that  the  promise  of  blessedness  is  given.  Then  let 
us  not  forget  that  God  must  be  the  judge  of  the  "  due 
time."  We  are  often  in  a  hurry  ;  God  never  is.  Per- 
haps the  greatest  miracle  in  Christ's  life  is  that  He  should 
wait  thirty  years  before  performing  a  miracle.  He  bided 
His  time.     Undue  haste  pays  the  penalty  of  speedy  de- 


100 


CHRIST,    AND   UIM   CUUCIFIED. 


cay.  Did  wo  know  all  tlio  reasons  as  God  knows  them 
we  should  always  approve  of  His  seeming  delay.  How 
few  converts,  apparently,  there  were  in  Christ's  personal 
ministry  !  but  one  sermon  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  brings 
three  thousand*  to  Jeeus'  feet.  Soon  the  number  in- 
creased "O  rapidly  tliat  Luke  ceases  to  give  us  figures. 
Carey  and  liis  companions  must  labor  seven  years  before 
the  first  Hindoo  convert  is  baptized.  Judson  must  toil 
on  until  the  churches  grow  disheartened,  and  everything 
but  his  own  faith  and  God's  promise  fails.  In  a  single 
recent  year  eighteen  thousand  are  baptized  in  connection 
with  our  Baptist  work  on  these  same  foreign  fields  1 
These  thinss  are  not  accidental.  Thev  have  their  rea- 
sons.  We  cannot  always  trace  the  law.  God  can.  Let 
us  do  our  duty,  and  leave  the  result  with  Plim. 

But  complying  with  the  conditions  of  God  success  is 
certain.  What  is  success  ?  Not  all  which  either  the 
world  or  the  Church  calls  by  that  name.  Much  which 
neither  the  world  nor  the  Church  so  calls  is  success.  We 
remember  the  oft-quoted  incident  at  Waterloo.  At  the 
crisis  in  the  battle  when  all  depended  on  the  firmness  of 
the  soldiers,  messenger  after  messenger  came  into  the 
presence  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  urging  that  the 
troops  at  an  important  point  be  withdrawn,  as  they  must 
soon  yield  before  the  terrible  onsets  of  the  French.  The 
only  reply  the  duke  returned  was,  *^  Stand  firm."  The 
officer  remonstrated,  **  We  shall  all  perisli."  Again  the 
iron-hearted  duke  sdd,  "  Stand  firm."  **  You'll  find 
us  there,"  said  the  officer  as  he  galloped  away.  Every 
man,  it  is  said,  of  that  doorned  brigade  fell  fighting  at 
his  post.  They  did  their  duty.  That  is  success.  Going 
up  Fifth  Avenue  to  the  grounds  of  the  new  cathedral  a 
little  time  ago,  we  saw  a  workman  carving  part  of  a  floral 
design  on  stone.     ' '  Where  is  this  stone  to  bo  put,  and 


NOT   WKAilY    IX    WELL-DOIXO. 


10  L 


what  will  be  tho  design  when  complete  ?"     **  1  don't 
know,"  said  he  ;  *'  my  business  is  to  transfer  this  pattern 
to  this  sto.ie  ;  tho  master- workman  knows  the  rest."     lie 
was  doing  good  work.    He  did  his  duty.    That  was  suc- 
cess.   To-day  that  stone  adorns  some  l^y  arch.    The 
parts  are  joined,  a  complete  and  beautiful  whole  is  tho 
result.     In  one  of  our  ))aper8  some  chapters  were  pub- 
lished some  time  ago  of  a  history  soon  to  be  written, 
entitled,  **  The  Fall  of  Slavery."    Some  parts  of  that 
chapter  are  thrilling.     Behold  the  aged  Benjamin  Lundy 
travelling  on   foot,  with  his  staff  in  hand,  and  his  pack 
on  his  back,  through  winter's  winds  and  snow  on  his 
journeys  from  Baltimore,  Md.,  to  Bennington,  Vt.     lie 
goes  to  talk  with  the  young  and  brave  William  Lloyd 
Garrison  of  the  sin  of  slavery  and  the  hope  of  freedom. 
The  winds  which  sweep  the  lofty  ranges  of  the  Green 
Mountains  come  to  these  two  men  as  the  dirges  of  slavery's 
**  Miserere  ;"  they  go  from  tliem  laden  with  the  notes  of 
freedom's  '*  Te  Deum."     But  what  sowing  of  tears  and 
blood,  before  tho  sheaves  of  freedom  are  gathered  !     Be- 
hold Mr.  Garrison  dragged  through  the  streets  of  Boston 
with  a  rope  about  his  neck.     Could  the  prospects  of 
freedom  be  darker  ?     Surely  he  will  faint  with  weari- 
ness.    But  that  man  lived  to  see  the  last  chain  of  the 
last  slave  melted  in  the  tires  of  battle,  and  to  hear  tho 
winds  which  sweep  over  every  mountain  and  valley  of  a 
redeemed  nation  chanting  liberty's  jubilee.     I  have  re- 
ferred to  the  Duke  of  Wellington.     It  is  a  noticeable 
fact  that  in  his  despatches,  which  fill  twelve  large  vol- 
umes, the  word  "  glory"  never  appears  ;  not  even  after 
his  greatest  victories,  but  always   the  word  "  duty," 
"duty."     The  word  '*  glory'*    predominates  in  all  of 
Napoleon's  despatches.     This  characteristic  of  Welling- 
ton is  to  be  traced  to  the  lesson  he  learned,  as  he  himself 


r — 


103 


ClIKIST,    AND    JlIM    CUUCIFIED. 


tells  US,  in  youth  from  his  catechiem,  the  lesson  **  of 
doing  your  duty  in  that  station  of  lifo  to  which  it  shall 
pleaso  God  to  call  you."  That  is  success.  Keap  that. 
God  will  cure  for  the  other  certain  harvests. 

To-day  I  sfftnmon  you  to  duty.  Through  winter's 
cold  and  summer's  heat  stand  firm.  Do  your  work. 
Some  will  remain  at  homo  during  the  summer  ;  otheis 
will  bo  away.  Wherever  you  are  be  true  to  Christ. 
Display  the  banner.  Let  '^  well-doing"  bo  your  standard. 
Never  be  weary,  so  as  to  neglect  duty.  Know  that  as 
God's  promise  is  sure,  *'  Wo  shall  reap."  Know  that 
*'  He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious 
seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing 
his  sheaves  with  him." 

Weary  one,  the  everlasting  arm  is  about  you.  World- 
lings may  faint.  Christians  never.  "  Even  the  youths 
shall  faint  and  be  weary,  and  the  young  men  shall  utterly 
fall  :  but  they  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their 
strength  ;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles  ; 
they  shall  run,  and  not  bo  weary  ;  and  they  shall  walk,  and 
not  faint." 


VIIT. 
SAD   SOWING— GLAD  REAPING. 

*'Ho  that  goetli  forth  au J  weepeth,  bearinf?  precious 'seed,  shall 
doubtleBS  como  again  with  rojoiciug,  bringing  his  uhoaves  with  him." 
— PsA.  12G  :  G. 


This  Psalm  was  doubtless  composed  with  reference  to 
tho  return  from  the  Babylonisli  captivity.  The  first 
group  of  colonists  had  returned.  Tlie  permission  to 
return  was  so  unexpected,  and  all  the  circumstances  were 
80  providential,  that  when  tliey  actually  found  tiu'in- 
eelvcs  in  tho  land  of  their  hopes  and  prayers  the  were 
like  those  that  dreamed.  Itsceincd  too  good  to  oq  true. 
God  had  interposed  in  a  marvellous  way,  and  their  hi»^h- 
cst  hopes  were  more  than  realized.  With  thoughts  like 
these  tho  Psalm  opens.  But  the  Psalmist  goes  on,  and 
represents  the  returned  colonists  as  olferlng  earnest  prayer 
for  those  left  behind.  As  a  matter  of  fact  they  came 
back  in  various  groups.  Some  came  under  Cyrus,  some 
under  Darius,  and  still  others  under  Xerxes  and  his  suc- 
cessors. As  Perowne  has  observed,  the  first  arrivals 
were  but  as  a  trickling  rill  amid  tho  desert  wastes  ;  so 
the  prayer  bursts  from  the  Psalmist's  lips  that  God  would 
send  them  back  as  mighty  streams  swollen  by  the  winter 
rains.  Daring  their  absence  the  land  was  neglected.  It 
was  overgrown  with  weeds,  and  the  seed  had  not  been 
sown.  Still,  faith  could  overcome  these  difficulties.  Tho 
joy  of  harvest  would  more  than  repay  the  sorrow  of  sow 
ing.     And  so  in  the  iifth  verse  of  the  Psalm  he  says, 


104 


I': 


I 


CIIKIST,    AND    II IM    CRUCIFIED. 


**  They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy."  The  text  is 
just  an  expansion  of  the  thought  contained  in  the  iifth 
verse.  In  the  text  the  singular  is  substituted  for  the 
plural  in  order  to  make  the  individual  sower  more  dis- 
tinct. In  presenting  this  subject  we  shall  give  two  pic- 
tures, which  we  shall  entitle  *'  The  Outgoing  Sower  and 
the  Incoming  Reaper." 

1.  First  picture — **  The  Outgoing  Sower."  These 
pictures  are  not  given  in  the  text  simply  in  outline. 
The  Psalmist,  with  the  pen  of  inspiration,  has  completely 
filled  in  all  their  parts.  Let  us  follow  him  in  this  in- 
spired description.  The  first  element  of  the  description 
is  expressed  in  the  words,  '^  He  that  goeth  forth." 
There  is  here  a  literal,  a  verbal  accuracy.  We  know  that 
in  that  ancient  time  and  Oriental  land  the  harvest  fields 
were  often  at  a  great  distance  from  the  husbandman's 
humble  home.  Sometimes  he  was  obliged  to  go  six  or 
eight  miles  distant  in  order  to  reach  the  ground  wi)ich 
he  cultivated.  Large  companies,  for  purposes  of  mutual 
|jrotection,  went  out  in  the  early  dawn  from  their  homes 
and  returned  again  as  the  evening  shades  were  falling. 
Often  these  farmers  were  obliged  to  protect  themselves 
by  deadly  weapons  as  they  went  to  or  returned  from 
their  fields.  Something  similar  to  this  was  seen  in 
Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages.  It  was  literal  truth, 
then,  in  our  Lord's  parable  when  He  said,  **  Behold,  a 
sower  went  forth  to  sow.  '^  Spiritually  this  is  true  always 
and  everywhere.  The  sincere  sower  of  the  good  seed  of 
the  kingdom  must  leave  the  ranks  of  ordinary  churcli 
members.  It  must  bo  sadly  admitted  that  the  rank  and 
file  of  church  workers  do  but  little  aggressive  work  for 
the  Master.  The  earnest  seeker  for  souls  must  be  will- 
ing to  step  out  from  and  far  in  advance  of  the  line  which 
the  average  worker  reaches.     Take  out  of  our  very  be^t 


I 


r 


SAD   SOWING — GLAD    RKAPING. 


105 


k 


f 


churches  a  score  or  more  of  earnest  workers,  and  little 
seed  would  bo  sown  and  few  harvests  reaped.  Every 
man  who  has  been  conspicuously  successful  for  Christ 
has  been  willing  and  even  obliged  to  go  forth  and  sow. 
Often,  too,  such,  workers  must  find  new  fields  of  Chris- 
tian enterprise.  In  doing  this  they  may  have  to  incur 
the  odium  of  indifferent  church  members.  When  Carey, 
our  great  Baptist  missionary,  arose  from  his  shoemaker^s 
bench,  inspired  with  holy  love  and  fired  by  Christian 
zeal  for  the  heathen,  even  so  good  a  man  as  Dr.  Ryland 
could  say  to  him,  *'  Sit  down,  young  man ;  when  God 
intends  to  convert  the  heathen  He  can  do  it  without  j^ou 
or  me."  Something  of  the  same  spirit  manifests  itself 
on  the  part  of  extremely  conservative  men  to-day. 
"Work  in  tents  and  halls  has  had  to  bear  a  secret  dislike, 
if  not  open  opposition,  from  many  who  bear  the  Chris- 
tian name.  But  men  who  know  the  constraining  love  of 
Christ,  and  who  feel  the  value  of  immortal  souls,  must 
not  fear  the  opposition.  Conscious  of  the  divine  call 
they  must  be  willing  to  go  forth  and  sow  the  precious 
seed  in  the  Master's  name.  If  they  feel  that  God  is 
with  them,  that  God  is  sending  them,  they  will  not  fear 
opposition  ;  and  they  may  be  assured  that  they  will  yet 
return  with  rejoicing,  bringing  their  sheaves  with  them. 
The  next  element  in  the  picture  is  that  the  sower  is 
represented  as  weeping.  The  language  here  is  very 
strong.  One  commentator  puts  it  in  this  form,  '*may 
iaJeed  weep  every  step  that  he  goes."  It  has  also  been 
rendered,  **  takes  no  step  of  his  way  without  weeping." 
The  double  infinitive  is  employed  "  to  mark  the  continu- 
ance of  the  action."  There  is  also  a  literal  and  verbal 
accuracy  in  this  strong  language.  Sometimes  the  scarcity 
of  the  seed  makes  the  sower  well-nigh  a  weeper  as  he 
scatters  it  in  the  furrow.    The  harvests  of  the  previous 


106 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


year  have  been  poor.  By  the  exercise  of  great  ecoriomy 
the  humble  husbandman  has  enabled  his  family  to  subsist 
through  the  year.  "What  shall  he  now  do  ?  Not  to  sow 
the  seed  is  to  have  no  bread  for  the  coming  year  ;  but  to 
BOW  it  is  like  taking  the  bread  out  of  his  children's 
mouths  for  the  present  year.  This  is  the  sower's  trying 
position.  We  know  that  sometimes  the  government  has 
been  obliged  to  step  in  and  furnish  seed-corn,  even  as  in 
the  days  of  Joseph  in  Egypt.  In  all  of  tliis  there  is 
much  to  make  sowing  sad  work.  But,  again,  the  ex- 
treme danger  to  which  the  sower  was  exposed  made  his 
labor  one  of  sadness.  As  Dr.  Thomson  tells  us  in  **  The 
Land  and  The  Book,"  the  sower  was  often  obliged  to 
drop  the  plough  and  seize  the  sword.  His  fields,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  were  far  from  his  home,  and  so  near 
the  lawless  desert.  As  in  Job's  day,  when  the  oxen  were 
ploughing  and  the  asses  feeding  beside  them,  the  Sabeans 
came  and  took  them  all  away,  so  often  since  fierce  hordes 
from  the  deserts  have  swept  down  upon  the  peaceful 
husbandman,  and  robbed  him  of  seed  and  implements, 
sparing  only  his  life.  In  all  of  this  there  was  much  to 
make  the  work  of  sowing  also  a  work  of  weeping. 

But  still  again,  the  frequent  fruitlessness  of  the  labor 
made  it  sad  toil.  The  land  had  gone  to  weeds.  The 
ground  was  fallow.  It  was  no  easy  task  to  break  up  this 
stubborn  soil.  Their  once  fruitful  land  was  barren,  and 
its  cultivation  was  a  work  of  the  utmost  toil.  Their  im- 
plements .  were  poor  and  inelficient ;  their  oxen  were 
small  and  weak,  and  their  own  skill  very  unlike  that  of 
the  farmer  of  modern  days.  For  these  and  similar  rea- 
sons the  literal  sowing  of  the  seed  miglit  be  called  a  work 
of  weeping.  The  spiritual  sower  has  also  his  times  of 
sadness.  He  is  often  saddenti  because  of  the  barrenness 
and  deadncss  of  his  own  heart.     When  he  remembers 


!^1 


BAD   SOWING — GLAD    UEAPINO. 


107 


n 


the  matchless  love  of  Christ  for  him  and  others,  when  he 
remembers  the  value  of  an  immortal  soul,  when  he  looks 
upon  the  insensibility  of  men  without  God  and  without 
hope  in  the  world,  he  ma}^  well  weej)  day  and  night. 
Often  his  prayer  has  been,  **  Oh  that  my  head  were 
waters,  and  my  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  tliat  1  might  weep 
day  and  night  for  the  slain  of  the  daughter  of  my  peo- 
ple !"  He  is  also  saddened  because  of  the  indifference 
of  many  Christians  about  him.  They  bear  the  name  of 
Christ  but  fail  to  possess  the  spirit  of  Christ.  *'  lie 
went  about  doing  good."  They  do  not  follow  in  His 
footsteps.  Weary  with  His  journey,  and  oppressed  by 
the  heat  of  the  noonday  sun.  He  is  still  able  to  sow  the 
precious  seed  at  Jacob's  well ;  but  many  who  now  pro- 
fess to  be  His  followers  grow  weary  in  welldoing  and 
utterly  abandon  the  task.  The  sower  of  the  spiritual 
seed  is  often  saddened,  too,  because  so  much  of  it  falls 
in  unfruitful  soil.  When  he  lias  sown  it  with  prayers 
and  tears,  and  expects  to  reap  a  harvest  of  souls  for  the 
glory  of  his  Master,  he  discovers  with  unspeakable  sad- 
ness that  some  of  it  has  fallen  by  the  wayside,  and  the 
fowls  of  the  air  have  taken  away  the  good  seed  ;  while 
still  other  seed  has  fallen  into  stony  places,  and  by  and 
by  the  sun  of  persecution  destroys  the  tender  blade  ; 
while  other  seed  is  choked  by  the  cares  of  this  world  and 
the  deceitfulness  of  riches.  These  things  sadden  the 
sower's  heart.  When  one  runs  well  for  a  season  and 
then  falls  out  of  the  way,  a  sword  pierces  the  sower's 
heart. 

There  is,  however,  marvellous  power  in  this  element 
of  tenderness  in  seed-sowing.  I  have  known  farmers 
who  wished  for  a  speedy  growth,  to  steep  the  seed  in 
water  before  they  put  it  into  the  ground.  When  sown 
it  was  ready  at  once  to  sprout,  because  of  this  previous 


.\- 


108 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED; 


I 


preparation.  When  men  can  baptize  the  good  seed  of 
the  kingdom  in  their  tears  and  prayers,  they  may  ex- 
pect soon  to  see  it  spring  up  and  bring  forth  fruit,  some 
thirty,  some  sixty,  and  some  an  hundredfold.  This  was 
an  element  of  power  in  the  life  of  the  Lord  Himself. 
To  what  times  do  we  look  in  Christ's  life  as  occasions 
which  most  powerfully  move  us  ?  Is  it  to  the  wonderful 
displays  of  His  power  when  He  hushed  the  raging  storm, 
and  the  wind  ceased  and  the  sea  became  a  pavement  of 
adamant  ?  or  shall  we  see  Him  in  a  still  greater  display  of 
His  power  ?  The  war  in  the  human  breast  is  wilder  than 
that  which  sweeps  over  the  ocean's  surface.  Christ  will 
prove  His  power,  not  only  over  this  war  of  the  elements, 
but  He  will  bring  peace  to  the  raging  storm  in  a  human 
soul.  The  man  who  had  lived  among  the  tombs,  who 
had  made  the  way  impassable,  who  had  cut  himself  with 
stones,  who  had  broken  chains  as  if  they  had  been  ropes 
of  sand,  is  seen  clothed,  sitting  in  his  right  mind  at  Jesus' 
feet.  These  displays  of  power  awaken  our  enthusiasm 
and  stir  our  tender  emotions.  But  not  here  shall  Christ 
most  move  the  world's  heart.  The  tears  of  Jesus  have 
melted  men's  hearts  tlirough  all  the  centuries.  Three 
times  during  His  earthly  life  did  He  weep.  The  first 
two  instances  are  recorded  in  the  gospels  ;  for  the  last 
instance  we  must  go  to  the  letter  to  the  Hebrews.  The 
first  were  tears  of  family  friendship  ;  the  second  were 
tears  of  patriotic  fervor  ;  the  laot  were  tears  of  sacrificial 
love.  The  first  tears  were  a  rill  that  flowed  for  an 
afflicted  family,  when  Chriet  wept  at  the  grave  of  Laza- 
rus ;  the  second  were  a  rivulet  streaming  forth  for  a 
doomed  nation,  when  He  beheld  Jerusalem  and  wept 
over  it ;  the  third  were  a  mighty  river  that  has  swept 
across  the  world,  when  He  bowed  in  Gethsemane  **  with 
i^U'ong  crying .  an(;J  tears"  for  a.world!s.  woe.    This  ele* 


SAD   80WIXG— -GLAD    UEAPINO. 


109 


f 


ment  of  tenderness  gives  power  to  every  Christian  effort 
to-day.  There  is  often  more  power  in  a  warm  grasp  of 
the  hand,  in  the  tremulous  voice,  and  in  the  tearful  eye, 
than  in  tJie  thunders  of  eloquence  and  the  arguments  of 
logic.  Just  at  this  point  many  workers  for  Christ  are 
shorn  of  their  power.  They  are  stately  and  cold.  They 
lack  the  sympathy  which  is  born  of  love  for  Christ  and 
for  the  souls  of  men.  If  we  are  to  draw  men  with  the 
cords  of  a  man,  we  must  have  the  bands  of  true  Christian 
love.  Oh,  for  that  kindness  which  comes  from  com- 
munion with  Christ,  and  appreciation  of  the  value  and 
loss  of  immortal  souls  I  He  who  sows  the  precious  seed 
in  this  ppirit  shall  reap  the  golden  harvest.  We  remem- 
ber an  incident  which  illustrates  this  thought.  An  car- 
nest  Christian  was  very  anxious  for  the  conversion  of  a 
sceptical  blacksmith.  He  determined  to  visit  him  in  his 
shop  ;  he  would  fill  his  mouth  with  convincing  argu- 
ments and  thus  refute  all  the  blacksmith's  positions. 
He  came.  His  heart  was  overflowing  with  love  for  his 
neighbor's  soul.  Ho  took  him  by  the  hand  ;  but  his 
emotions  choked  his  utterance  except  to  say,  ''I  am 
greatly  concerned  for  your  soul."  He  could  say  no 
more.  It  was  enough.  The  arrow  went  home.  *' Con- 
cerned for  my  soul  ;  then  I  ought  to  be  concerned," 
thought  the  convicted  sinner.  Soon  he  was  consulting 
with  his  Christian  wife  ^  soon  he  was  journeying  to  his 
friend's  house  a  burdened  and  seeking  sinner.  That 
night  they  knelt  together  at  Jesus'  feet,  and  the  sceptic 
found  joy  and  peace  in  believing.  He  could  not  resist 
his  neighbor's  loving  solicitude.  Love  is  the  best  logic. 
It  furnishes  unanswerable  arguments.  Gentleness  is 
greatness ;  meekness  is  mightiness.  Oh  for  Christ's 
tenderness  ! 
.;  Another  element  in  this  picture  is  that  the  sower  goeth 


110 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


t  ; 


forth  bearing  precious  seed.  The  idea  suggested  by  the 
word  "  precious"  is  not  found  in  the  original  word. 
The  seed  is  precious,  however,  both  in  its  literal  and 
spiritual  sense.  Strictly  speaking,  it  is  a  draught  or  a 
drawing  of  seed  that  is  here  mentioned.  It  has  sometimes 
been  called  the  **  seed-basket."  It  is  as  much  seed  as 
the  sower  can  take  in  the  vessel  he  carries,  or  in  the  folds 
of  the  robe  which  he  wears.  In  literal  sowing  often  as 
much  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  seed  as  the  char- 
acter of  the  soil.  It  is  certainly  not  otherwise  in  spiritual 
life.  This  seed  is  the  "Word  ;  this  is  the  good  seed  of  the 
kingdom.  Nothing  but  this  good  eecd  can  save  men. 
The  woman  in  the  parable  might  have  put  something 
else  than  leaven  into  the  meal.  It  might  have  been  a 
nugget  of  gold  ;  it  might  have  been  a  valuable  diamond, 
but  it  never  would  have  leavened  the  meal.  So  here  ; 
whatever  else  men  sow,  if  it  be  not  this  precious  seed 
there  shall  be  no  harvest  of  joy.  All  of  us  have  listened 
to  sermons  ten  thousand  of  which  would  never  convert 
a  soul.  Had  God  converted  souls  under  such  preaching 
it  would  be  putting  a  premium  on  the  preaching  of  error. 
Many  of  us  know  preachers  who,  themselves,  there  is 
reason  to  fear,  do  not  know  the  power  of  God's  grace. 
They  were  set  apart  by  their  parents  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel, as  other  members  of  the  family  were  set  apart  to 
practise  law  or  medicine,  or  to  enter  some  line  of  busi- 
ness. It  was  merely  a  profession.  The  case  of  such  a 
man  comes  to  me  as  I  speak.  In  Scotland  his  parents 
designated  him  to  the  ministry  in  this  spirit.  For  forty 
years  he  preached  in  one  pulpit.  A  revival  would  have 
startled  him  and  his  people  more  than  an  earthquake. 
Seldom,  except  when  there  were  revivals  in  other 
churches,  were  there  additions  to  his  church.  He  did 
sow  some  seed,  but  it  was  so  wrapped  up  in  the  cold 


SAD   SOWING — GLAD    UEAPIXQ. 


Ill 


formalities  of  lifeless  dogmas  that  a  liarvest  could  not  be 
expected,  and  certainly  was  not  secured.  Wo  must  know 
Christ  aa  our  personal  Saviour,  as  teachers  in  Sunday- 
schools,  as  workers  in  missions,  and  as  preacliers  in  tlio 
pulpit.  Our  own  hearts  must  glow  with  Christian  love, 
and  out  of  tlie  abundance  of  this  glowing  heart  our  glad 
lips  must  speak.  How  can  men  tell  others  of  Christ  ex- 
cept they  know  Him  for  themselves  ?  Surely  if  the  blind 
lead  the  blind  both  must  fall  into  the  ditch.  We  want 
at  this  hour  what  a  Chinese  convert  told  his  missionary 
that  his  people  needed — **  Men  with  hot  hearts  to  tell  us 
of  the  love  of  Christ."  A  thought  suggests  itself  here 
which  may  possibly  seem  fanciful  to  some,  and  yet  to 
me  it  comes  naturally  out  of  the  figure  employed.  The 
drawing  of  the  seed,  as  the  Word  implies,  was  as  much 
as  the  sower  carried  with  him  in  his  basket  or  robe,  from 
the  seed-pile  in  the  storehouse.  Is  it  not  true,  spiritually, 
that  the  sower  can  only  sow  what  he  carries  with  him  in 
his  own  brain,  and  in  his  own  heart  ?  He  cannot  sow 
the  seed  from  the  storehouse  of  God's  Word  except  ho 
has  first  taken  it  into  his  own  mind  and  heart.  There 
are  truths  which  no  man  can  understand  except  as  ho 
has  felt  his  way  through  them.  He  must  by  a  happy 
experience  know  something  of  the  deep  things  of  God's 
Word  before  he  can  lead  others  into  its  profound  depths. 
There  can  be  no  power  in  merely  mechanical  or  profes- 
sional preaching,  whether  by  pastor,  teacher,  or  other 
Christian  worker.  Only  that  which  you  can  tell  from 
experience  is  really  your  own  of  God's  truth.  May  this 
inspired  picture  of  the  sower  live  in  our  thoughts,  and 
be  reproduced  in  our  lives  !  May  each  one  of  us  go  forth 
weeping,  bearing  this  precious  and  divine  seed,  sowing 
it  with  faith  and  hopo  in  the  hearts  of  our  fellow-men  I 
We  need  for  the  highest  success  the  '*  blood  earnestness" 


113 


CHRIST,    AND  HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


born  of  intense  conviction,  and  inspired  by  Christ's  con- 
straining love. 

2.  The  second  picture—'*  The  Incoming  Reaper." 
"Wo  have  here  in  the  Hebrew  a  striking  form  of  ex- 
preesion.  It  is  the  Combination  of  the  finite  tense  with 
the  infinitive  ;  it  is  difficult  in  our  idiom  to  bring  out  the 
exact  thought.  In  some  versions  it  is  rendered,  "  Com- 
ing, lie  shall  come."  This,  however,  Dr.  Alexander 
says,  **  conveys  neither  the  peculiar  form  nor  the  precise 
sense  of  the  Hebrew  phrase."  Luther's  repetition  of 
the  finite  tense,  most  scholars  are  agreed,  gives  us  the 
b.e8t  approximation  to  the  force  of  the  original,  "  He 
shall  come,  He  shall  come."  The  certainty  of  His  com- 
ing again  is  the  thought ;  this  our  common  version,  with 
its  **  shall  doubtless  come  again,"  clearly  teaches.  This 
is  the  first  element  in  this  second  picture.  The  tearful 
sower  shall  become  the  joyful  reaper.  Of  this  there  can 
be  no  doubt.  There  is  a  law  of  spiritual  as  truly  as  of 
natural  agriculture.  No  good  word  spoken  for  or  of  God 
is  spoken  in  vain.  For  the  past  few  years  I  have  preached 
with  far  more  certainty  of  a  spiritual  harvest  than  the 
husbandman  can  have  of  a  natural  harvest  when  he  casts 
the  seed  into  the  ground.  God's  Word  will  not  return 
to  Him  void.  This  He  has  declared  ;  this  we  must 
believe.  Doubting  it,  we  are  shorn  of  our  power  ;  we 
become  dwarfs  when  we  ought  to  be  giants.  Has  not 
God  declared  that  seed  time  and  harvest  shall  not  fail  ? 
And  they  do  not.  Shall  He  be  more  mindful  of  the 
harvests  of  the  earth  than  of  the  ingathering  of  souls  ? 
Rather,  in  the  spiritual  vineyard  we  ought  to  expect  a 
continuous  harvest.  "  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the 
Lord,  that  the  ploughman  shall  overtake  the  reaper,  and 
the  treader  of  grapes  him  that  soweth  seed."  Here  is 
a  continuous  harvest  ;.here  the  fruits  of  one  season  are 


I 

if 


SAD   SOWING — GLAD   REAPING. 


113 


)■■ 


not  gathered  before  the  sowing  for  the  next  season 
begins.  There  ought  never  to  be,  in  the  technical  sense, 
a  revival  in  a  church,  because  there  ought  never  to  bo 
anything  else.  Let  us  not  now  talk  of  waiting  four 
months  for  harvest.  Why  put  off  earnest  efforts  until 
the  week  of  prayer  ?  Lift  up  your  eyes  now  and  behold 
the  fields  white  already  with  harvest.  The  reaper  shall 
certainly  come.  Sunday-school  teachers,  continue  your 
work  in  this  spirit.  Parents,  preachers,  workers  in  all 
departments  of  Cliristian  effort,  you  do  not  toil  alone. 
God's  eye  is  upon  you.  You  shall  certainly  reap  if  you 
faint  not.  Go  forward.  Tearfully  sow  the  seed  ;  joy- 
fully await  the  harvest. 

A  second  feature  of  the  second  picture  is  that  the 
reaper  comes  with  rejoicing.  Of  course  he  does.  Why 
should  he  now  be  sad  ?  Some  of  us  remember  the 
**  Harvest-home"  singing  and  rejoicing  when  the  last 
sheaf  was  gathered  in.  Something  like  that  is  here  im- 
plied. There  is  no  joy  like  that  which  comes  from  suc- 
cessful work  for  Christ.  All  the  joys  of  earth  are  noth- 
ing when  compared  with  this.  This  endures  ;  this  allies 
us  to  angels  and  God.  This  awakens  the  purest  and 
noblest  instincts  of  the  soul.  In  this  joy  we  feel  the 
throb  of  Christ's  heart.  The  promise  to  Him  is  that 
*'  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and  shall  be  satis- 
fied." This  joy  is  mingled  even  with  the  gloom  of  Geth- 
semane  and  Calvary.  It  was  for  the  joy  set  before  Him 
that  He  endured  the  cross  and  despised  the  shame.  J 
pity  the  man  who  knows  nothing  of  this  rejoicing  ;  I 
envy  the  man  whose  soul  is  constantly  overflowing  with 
its  blessedness. 

But,  again,  he  comes  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him. 
This  gives  additional  joy.  Behold  the  picture  !  He  is 
returning  with  his  sheaves.      These   he   cannot  carry. 


lU 


ClIUIST,    AND  HIM   CRUCIFIKD. 


Oxen  and  tlio  wain  are  introduced.  Tho  wagon  groans 
n rider  the  burden  ;  the  reaper  joyously  walks  on  before. 
He  is  abundantly  rewarded  for  his  toil  ;  his  soul  over- 
flows with  joy.    This  assurance  would  cheer  the  hearts 

'  of  the  exiles  who  were  still  journeying  homo  ;  it  would 
stimulate  those  who  had  returned.  It  encourages  all 
who  are  laboring  for  their  own  salvation  and  that  of 
others.  Yon  labor  not  in  vain.  God  shall  give  the  in- 
crease. We  ought  to  be  willing  to  labor  even  if  we  do 
not  reap.  God  may  sometimes  require  this  of  us.  One 
sows,  another  reaps.  Christ  taught  this  lesson.  But, 
tliank  God,  Ho  often  permits  us  both  to  sow  and  reap. 
Never  to  reap  requires  marvellous  faith  if  the  sower  be 
earnest ;  if  he  be  indifferent  ho  will  not  long  for  sheaves. 
But  we  may  expect  them.  As  God  lives  we  shall  not 
toil  in  vain.  Are  you  watching  for  the  harvest  ?  Are 
you  willing  to  stand  before  Christ  without  sheaves  ? 
God  forbid  that  this  should  bo  the  experience  of  any  of 
you  I  There  is  a  great  harvest-day  coming.  The  field 
shall  bo  the  world  ;  angels  shall  be  the  reapers.  Oh, 
that  great  and  terrible  day  I  Oh,  that  joyous  and  blessed 
day  !  When  that  day  dawns  **  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord 
shall  return,  and  come  to  Zion  with  songs  and  everlast- 
ing joy  upon  their  heads  ;  they  shall  obtain  joy  and  glad- 
ness, and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee  away. " 

But  we  are  all  sowers  and  reapers.    The  law  of  spir- 
itual agriculture  is  as  sure  as  the  law  of  gravitation. 

-  You  may  not  expect  to  sow  thistles  and  reap  wheat ; 
you  cannot  sow  the  seeds  of  vice  and  reap  the  fruits  of 
virtue.  You  cannot  cheat  God.  If  you  sow  the  flesh 
you  must  reap  corruption  ;  if  you  sow  the  wind  you 
must  reap  the  whirlwind  ;  if  you  sow  to  the  world,  the 
flesh  and  the  devil,  as  the  eternal  God  lives,  you  shall 
reap  an  eternal  hell.    Judging  by  your  sowing  to-day, 


( I 


SAD  SOWIMO—OIAD   BEAPIKO.  115 

1  ask  yon  in  God's  ,mmo,  "  What  shall  the  harvest  bo  J" 

reap.     Turn  jre,  turn  ye,  why  will  ye  die  1    Sow  to-dav 

he  seeds  of  a  tearful  repentance  and  you  sMl  reapZ 

fruits  of  a  joyful  fo,,;iveness.    Patience,  conn«e\  oh 

Wd7  J'f  '"'^  r"'  --  -^  BhaU  stind  beZ'  thS 
To.d  of  the  harvest  joyfnlljr  saying,  -  Here  are  we  and 
tiie  sheaves  thou  haat  given  us."  "  we  ana 


f1 


1 


IX. 

VICTORIOUS  YOUNG   MEN. 

"  I  have  written  unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye  are  strong,  and 
the  Word  of  God  abideth  in  you,  and  ye  have  overcome  the  wicked 
one."— 1  John  2  :  14. 

A  wELL-oROANizET)  and  truly  prosperous  church  of 
Christ  will  embrace  in  its  members  all  classes  and  con- 
ditions of  society.  Such  a  church  will  have  the  rich  to 
give  it  social  position  and  financial  strength,  and  the 
poor  to  meet  the  requirement  of  Him  who  hath  said, 
"  For  ye  have  the  poor  always  with  you." 

Such  a  church  will  have  the  young  to  give  it  freshness 
and  enthusiasm,  and  the  aged  to  give  it  the  gravity  and 
wisdom  born  of  large  and  varied  experience.  It  will 
also  have  those  in  middle  life,  with  chastened  enthusi- 
asm and  ripening  wisdom — strong  to  fight  the  battles  and 
calm  to  rejoice  in  the  triumphs  of  the  Christian  life. 
Each  class  acts  and  reacts  healthfully  and  helpfully  on 
each  other  class.  A  beautiful  old  age  becomes  more 
beautiful  when  contrasted  with  the  opening  life  of  youth  ; 
and  i  \Q  stalwart  strength  of  middle  life  assumes  grander 
proportions  when  placed  between  these  extremes.  A 
religious  teacher  Will  be  influential,  other  things  being 
equal,  in  proportion  as  he  is  able  to  sympathize  with  all 
these  classes — with  the  hopefulness  of  youth,  the  con- 
scious strength  of  middle  life,  and  the  ripe  experience 
of  age.  Such  a  man  was  the  Apostle  John.  He  was 
one  of  those  charming  old  men,  the  freshness  and  vigor 


I 


i 


VICTOKIOL'S    YOi:X(»    MKX. 


ii: 


of  whoRO  hearts  remain,  although  tlieir  heads  are  white 
and  their  liinhs  are  feehle.  Here  lie  addresses  tlio  little 
children — those  .young  alike  in  years  and  in  Christian 
faith  ;  the  old  men — those  who  had  long  and  faithfully 
home  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day,  some  of  whom 
may  have  had  a  pergonal  acqunintance  with  the  Lord 
Jesus  ;  and  the  young  men — those  in  the  prime  and 
bloom  of  early  manhood.  Ho  could  appeal  to  the  latter 
because  they  were  strong.  Little  children  had  not 
reached  the  age  when  they  could  he  appealed  to  on  that 
basis  ;  old  men  had  passed  that  age.  He  calls  on  those 
who  possessed  energy  of  body  and  mind  to  stand  up 
valiantly  for  the  truth. 

What  was  right  for  John  to  do  in  his  day  is  both  the 
duty  and  privilege  of  every  pastor  to  do  in  our  day. 
Christ  gives  young  men  the  opportunity  and  glory  of 
giving  the  dew  of  their  youth  and  the  strength  of  their 
manhood  to  His  blessed  service. 

John  mentions  three  characteristics  of  these  young 
men.  Our  purpose  is  simply  to  give  an  exposition  and 
to  make  an  application  of  these  characteristics. 


(( 


FIRST  CHARACTERISTIC. 

The  first  characteristic  is  suggested  by  the  words, 
Ye  are  strong."  There  is  inspiration  in  the  very 
words.  Youth  is  the  synonym  of  strength.  We  may 
well  believe  that  the  idea  of  physical  strength  enters 
into  John's  conception  of  strong  young  men.  There  is 
a  truth,  although  often  unduly  pressed,  in  what  is  called 
**  muscular  Christianity.' '  You  have  all  seen  young  men 
whose  admirable  physical  development  elicited  admira- 
tion. The  storms  which  snap  the  old  and  feeble  trees 
of  the  forest,  only  root  more  firmly  the  vigorous  oak  and 
the  supple  sapling.    So  the  storms  of  life,  which  dampen 


118 


CHRIST,    ;.ND    HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


|!     > 


y 


U 


the  ardor  of  the  very  young  and  chill  the  blood  of  the 
old,  only  quicken  the  life  and  awaken  the  enthusiasm  of 
young  men — giving  to  the  step  a  firmer  tread  and  to  the 
cheek  a  fresher  glow.  Such  men  seem  to  present  no 
vulnerable  point  to  the  approach  of  disease. 

Th&  Gospel  sanctifies  and  glorifies  the  body.  It  be- 
comes under  the  Gospel's  influence  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  It  is  a  false  and  wicked  conception  of  re- 
ligion which  degrades  the  body.  Religion,  when  its 
work  is  complete,  contemplates  the  resurrection  of  the 
body  as  well  as  the  redemption  of  the  soul.  Physical 
health  is  not  only  a  privilege  but  a  duty.  Sickness  is 
often  a  reflection  on  a  young  man's  good  sense,  if  not 
on  his  moral  character.  He  who  sins  against  his  body 
sins  against  his  God.  The  Bible  properly  translated 
never  speaks  of  the  body  as  vile.  Ever  since  Christ 
tabernacled  in  human  flesh,  the  body  has  been  dignified 
and  glorified.  Let  us  honor  it  as  belonging  to  Christ, 
and  a  part  of  His  wonderful  workmanship.  All  true 
Christians  will  be  more  successful  in  their  **  high  call- 
ing "  if  there  is  a  good  body  around  a  good  soul.  And 
obedience  to  Christ  tends  directly  to  make  sound  bodies. 
It  nips  vice  in  the  bud,  supplants  impure  thoughts  and 
unholy  desires,  substituting  the  highest  aims  and  the 
best  motives  as  the  ruling  principle  of  life.  So  that  to 
write  Christ  upon  the  soul  is  often  to  write  health,  vigor, 
and  beauty  on  the  body.  But  all  men  cannot  be  thus 
strong.  Many  receive  as  their  only  heritage  a  poor, 
feeble  body.  Some  of  the  greatest  souls  that  have  ever 
labored  and  prayed  dwelt  in  weak,  frail  tenements.  It 
is  amazing  what  an  amount  of  work  such  a  soul  will  get 
out  of  such  a  body.  As  preachers,  as  artists,  authors, 
and  poets,  great  souls  and  weak  bodies  have  been  wedded 
until  they  were  divorced  by  death.     And  to-day  men 


VICTOUIOUS    YOUNO   3IEN". 


LIO 


I: 


and  women,  languishing  on  beds  of  pain,  are  in  their 
resignation,  their  patience,  their  heroism,  worthy  to  be 
called  in  the  highest  sense  strong — stronger,  perhaps, 
than  those  who  hold  aloft  the  banner  and  sing  aloud  the 
triumj^hs  of  their  Lord  and  Saviour. 

We  may  be  sure  that  intellectual  culture,  in  some 
degree,  at  least,  is  an  element  in  young  men  who  are 
strong.  Ignorance  is,a  crime.  There  is  no  excuse  for  it, 
with  the  system  of  public  instruction  open  to  rich  and 
poor  alike  in  our  country.  It  ought  to  be  known  that, 
in  a  true  sense,  knowledge,  not  ignorance,  is  the  mother 
of  devotion.  The  infinitely  great  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  infinitely  small  on  the  other,  invite  lis  to  their  study, 
and  charm  us  by  their  mystery.  Christianity  welcomes 
investigations.  Her  spirit  builds  our  free  schools  and 
endows  our  colleges  and  seminaries.  Christian  young 
men  ought  to  surpass  ^11  others  in  the  extent  and  char- 
acter of  their  attainments.  They  have  Christ  for  their 
Teacher,  and  the  noblest  men  and  purest  women  the 
world  has  ever  known  for  their  fellovv-pupils.  Culture 
has  ever  adorned  Christianity  with  its  beauty ;  and 
Christianity,  in  turn,  has  crowned  culture  with  its  un- 
fading glories.  Learning  has  ever  fonrid  its  noblest 
employment  in  casting  its  treasures,  like  the  wise  men 
from  the  East,  at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  Christ  must  be 
placed  in  the  very  <^entre  .of  the  intellectual  life,  if  its 
highest  possibilities  are  to  be  realized.  All  intellectual 
activity  must  go  out  from  Him  as  light  raj^s  out  from 
the  sun.  When  He  is  so  enthroned  truths  will  adjust 
themselves  to  one  another  in  their  proper  relations.  The 
pure  white  light  of  intellect  is  impossible  except  it 
kindles  its  torch  at  the  cross  of  Christ.  The  highest 
glory  of  Greek  and  Latin  literature  was  a  reflection  from 
the  divine  splendor  which  rested  on  Hebrew  altars.     The 


120 


CHIUST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


1 


i 


m 


crystal  streams  of  these  literatures  find  tlieir  origin  in 
the  blessed  truths  of  the  divine  revelation.  The  men 
who  most  triumphantly  walk  tlie  dizzy  heights  of  intel- 
lectual greatness  are  those  who  most  humbly  walk  with 
God.  The  most  loyal  disciple  in  Christ's  school,  other 
things  being  equal,  should  be  the  most  successful  disciple 
in  all  other  schools.  Christ  is  the  truth.  In  its  vast 
realm  Ho  is  King.  All  truth  worships  at  His  pierced 
feet.  This  thought  gives  dignity  to  intellectual  pursuits. 
All  angles  and  triangles,  sines  and  cosines,  thus  become 
revelations  of  the  thoughts  of  God.  Geometry  becomes 
voiceful  with  eternal  truths,  and  astronomy  declares  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  firmament  showeth  His  handiwork. 
All  history  is  but  an  nnfolding  of  His  divine  plan  and 
eternal  purpose.  The  undevout  student  is  unscientific. 
How  can  he  master  the  great  truths  of  science  or  history 
if  he  be  disloyal  to  the  King  of  truth  ?  To  know  them 
aright  he  must  first  know  Him  aright.  As  well  might  a 
man  write  a  treatise  on  astronomy  and  leave  out  the  sun, 
as  attempt  to  write  a  history  of  this  world  and  leave  out 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  All  science, 
all  history,  all  true  intellectual  effort  receives  from  Him 
its  inspiration  and  lays  at  His  feet  its  noblest  achieve- 
ments. . 

Strength  of  body  and  vigor  of  mind,  however,  do  not 
exhaust  the  Apostle  John's  idea  of  strong  young  men. 
The  noble  Paul  gives  us  his  conception  of  strength  when 
he  says,  "  Finally,  brethren,  be  strong  in  the  Lord  and 
in  the  power  of  His  might.  Put  on  the  whole  armor 
of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of 
the  devil."  Young  men,  I  beseech  you,  do  not  attempt 
to  stand  alone.  Thousands,  strong  as  you,  have  fallen 
in  this  terrible  fight.  Hundreds  are  yearly  sacrificed  as 
an  awful  holocaust  to  Satan.    Will  you  swell  the  num- 


\ 


% 


Ih 


VICTORIOUS  YOUNG    MEN. 


121 


ber  ?  Will  you  bring  sadness  into  the  distant  homes 
where  in  innocence  you  were  cradled  ? — into  the  hearts 
of  parents  whose  gray  hairs  you  may  bring  down  with 
sorrow  to  the  grave  ?  Will  you  wound  afresh  the  Son 
of  God  ?  Attempt  not  this  fight  alone.  Satan  is  not  a 
match  for  Christ ;  but  he  is  more  than  a  matcli  for  you. 
You  must  be  girded  by  the  strengtli  of  God  and  clothed 
in  the  righteousness  of  Christ.  Stand  with  God.  Stand 
alone  with  Him  if  need  be.  One  young  man  with  Christ 
by  ilis  side  is  a  tremendous  majority.  Tlien  you  will 
be  able,  *'  having  done  all,  to  stand." 


n 


V 


SECOND   CHARACTERISTIC. 

The  second  characteristic  of  these  young  men  is  thus 
stated:  ''The  Word  of  God  abideth  in  you."  They 
had  been  exposed  to  ''youthful  lusts;"  they  had  re- 
sisted the  allurements  of  vice,  and  triumphed  over  the 
powers  of  darkness.  They  had  been  tested  as  to  their 
adherence  to  the  principles  of  religion  and  the  truth  of 
God  ;  and  John  bears  the  testimony  that  the  Word  of 
God  was  abiding  in  them.  ' 

The  presence  of  this  Word  in  their  hearts,  and  their 
devotion  to  it  in  their  lives,  were  a  proof  of  their 
strength.  The  Word  of  God  was  the  shield  with  which 
they  had  warded  otf  the  fiery  darts  of  the  enemy.  The 
lesson  is  peculiarly  valuable.  Many  young  men  are 
ambitious  to  be  considered  great  readers  ;  and  they  too 
often  neglect  the  Bible.  It  is  impossible  to  read  all  the 
books  published  by  the  prolific  press  of  the  day.  It  is 
'd,i  undesirable  as  it  is  impossible.  As  well  might  you 
submit  to  having  every  man  you  might  meet  on  Broad- 
way to-morrow  morning  take  you  by  the  buttonhole,  as 
have  every  book  published  arrest  your  attention.  There 
are,  however,  certain  classics  that  every  well-informed 


123 


CIIUIST,    AXD    IIT.M    CUUCIFIEI). 


i 


i    ! 


man  should  read.     Works  of  history,  science,  art,  and 
eoino  works  of  fiction  there  are  which  he  should  read, 
but  not  to  the  neglect  of  the  Word  of  God.     In  it  are 
hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge.    When 
Sir  Walter  Scott  lay  dying  he  asked  his  son-in-law,  Mr. 
Lock  hart,  to  read  for  him.     *'  What  book  ?''  said  Mr. 
Lockhart.    ''  What  book  ?"  said  Sir  Walter.     "  There 
is  but  one  book — the  Bible — read  that."    He  who  had 
read  so  widely,  and  had  contributed  so  many  immortal 
pages  to  literature,  gives  this  testimony  to  the  value  of 
the  Bible.     Mr.  Dickens  was  in  the  habit  of  writing  a 
letter  to  eaoh  of  his  sons  as  he  left  the  parental  roof.    In 
one  he  urged  his  son,  whatever  other  books  he  neglected, 
to  read  the  Bible,  as  it  contained  the  purest  morality 
and  the  best  rules  of  life  known  to  the  world.     When 
Milton  would  become  '^  a  poet,  soaring  in  the  high  rea- 
son of  his  fancies,  with  his  garland  and  singing  robes 
about  him,"  he  must  go  to  the  Bible  for  his  highest 
theme.     The  music  of  "  Siloa's  brook  that  flowed  fast 
by  the  oracle  of  God,"  gives  its  charm  to  his  lofty  verse. 
When  Raphael  would  perpetuate  his  name  to  imborn 
generations  he  must  ascend  "  the  holy  mount,"  stand  in 
the  supernal  glory,  and  gaze  on  the  transfigured  Christ. 
As  the  ^*  Transfiguration"  was  his  greatest,  so  it  was  his 
last  work.     He  died  in  early  manhood,  with  the  ^*  Trans- 
figuration" en  his  heart  and  brain.     That  picture  was 
carried   with   hiui   to   his  grave  at  his  burial.     When 
Handel  was  discouraged  by  attempting  to  give  opera  in 
a  foreign  language,  he  accepted  an  invitation  from  sev- 
eral notables  of  Ireland  to  visit  Dublin.     From  a  friend 
he  received  a  text  from  the  Bible  oi  which  he  composed 
his  immortal  work,  known  at  the  first  as  the  "  Sacred 
Oratorio,"  known  now  as   the   **  Messiah."     Both   in 
Dublin  and  in  London  this  work  gave  him  immediate 


i: 


VICTOUIOUS   YOUXQ   MKN. 


123 


fame ;  it  has  since  crowned  him  throup^hout  the  world 
with  unfading  glory.  The  debt  wliich  music,  paintin":, 
sculpture  and  literature  owe  to  the  Bible  cannot  bo  fully 
estimated.  •  It  is  said  that  the  Red  Cross  Knight  in 
Spenser's  * '  Faerie  Queene  "  is  but  Paul's  armed  Christian 
in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  ; 
that  Pope's  **  Messiah"  is  but  a  paraphrase  of  prophetic 
and  seraphic  passages  in  Isaiah  ;  that  tlie  noblest  strains 
in  Cowper's  **Task  "  draw  their  inspiration  and  part  of 
their  imagery  from  the  same  rapt  prophet  ;  that  the 
'^Thanatopsis"  of  Bryant  is  but  the  expansion  of  a  pas- 
sage in  Job  ;  that  "Wordsworth's  **  Ode  on  Immortality" 
could  never  have  been  written  but  for  Paul's  tifteenth 
chapter  of  First  Corinthians  and  the  eighth  chapter  of 
Romans  ;  that  Shakespeare's  conception  of  woman,  of  a 
Desdemona,  of  an  Ophelia,  would  have  been  impossible 
had  not  his  mind  been  permeated  by  a  Bible,  a  Christian 
ideal.  This  suggestive  thought  could  be  much  ex- 
panded ;  these  instructive  illustrations  might  be  greatly 
multiplied.  The  Bible  gave  all  these  men — working  in 
different  departments  of  genius  —their  inspiration.  Shall 
we  be  so  inconsistent  .6  to  rejoice  in  the  streams  while 
we  despise  the  fountain  whence  they  flowed  ? 

In  a  still  higher  sphere  the  indwelling  of  God's  Word 
is  an  absolute  necessity.  By  its  presence  and  power 
Christ  triumphed  in  the  wilderness.  Satan  said  :  **  Com- 
mand that  'hese  stones  be  made  bread."  "  Exert  Thy 
power  and  prove  Thy  Sonship."  How  does  Christ 
reply  ?  Will  He  by  an  act  of  divine  power  blast  the 
tempter  ?  Had  He  done  so  His  example  would  be  lost 
to  us.  He  answers,  *'  It  is  written,  Man  shall  not  live 
by  bread  alone."  Satan  takes  his  cue  for  the  next  temp- 
tation from  this  reply.  He  sees  that  Jesus  has  implicit 
faith  in  God.    He  will  test  that  faith.    ''  Cast  Thyself 


vu 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRL'CIFIED. 


down  from  this  piimaclo.  Show  to  all  the  people  what 
faith  you  have  in  God."  Our  Lord  again  replies  :  '*  It 
is  written,  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God."  It 
is  right  to  trust  God  ;  it  is  wicked  to  tempt  God.  De- 
feated twice,  the  tempter  tries  again  :  **  Bow  down  and 
worship  me."  Christ's  answer  comes,  *' Thou  shalt 
worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou 
serve."  Christ  uses  but  one  weapon — **  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit,  which  is  the  "Word  of  God."  Ileuses  no 
weapon  which  we  may  not  use  ;  He  wins  no  victory 
which  we  may  not  win.  Our  temptations  are  in  their 
essential  elements  similar  to  His  ;  our  triumphs  may  be 
like  His.  The  Word  of  God  is  iiot,  however,  a  magical 
charm,  by  pronouncing  which  we  may  be  safe.  It  must 
have  the  consent  of  our  will  and  be  a  part  of  ourselves. 
Wo  must  have  the  supple  wrist  to  use  this  sword.  Wo 
must  have  the  appropriate  passage  ready  for  immediate 
service.  Young  men,  if  you  would  strike  down  your 
spiritual  enemies,  learn  to  use  this  defensive  weapon. 
Let  the  Word  of  God  abide  in  you  richly. 


THIRD  CHARACTERISTIC. 

The  third  characteristic  of  these  young  men  is  that 
they  had  **  overcome  the  wicked  one."  Was  there  ever 
a  prouder  eulogy  pronounced  on  any  heroes  ?  "Ye 
have  overcome  the  wicked  one."  Let  that  commenda- 
tion ring  through  the  world  forever.  Let  the  zephyrs 
wliisper  it,  let  the  hurricanes  thunder  it.  Hear  it,  young 
men,  struggling  with  inward  weakness  and  outward 
trials.  Hear  it,  you  who  are  tasting  sin  and  are  charmed 
by  it.  Hear  it,  you  who  are  sceptical,  who  sneer  at 
virtue  as  if  it  were  impossible,  and  who  laugh  at  vice  as 
if  it  were  universal.  Once,  thanks  be  to  God,  there  was 
a  body  of  young  men  who  had  **  overcome  the  wicked 


VICTORIOUS  YOUNG   MEN. 


125 


one''  within  and  ^vithout  them.  Put  alongside  of  this 
the  conquests  of  Alexander,  compare  with  it  the  victories 
of  Caesar,  read  in  its  h'ght  the  triumphs  of  Napoleon. 
Alexander  conquered  nations  ;  ho  could  not  conquer  the 
passions  of  his  own  heart ;  he  died  the  victim  of  his  lust. 
Ceesar  and  Napoleon  were  vanquished  while  they  were 
victors.  *'  Ye  have  overcome  the  wicked  one.' '  Amaz- 
ing fact  I  Satan  robbed  heaven  of  angels  ;  he  entered 
paradise,  and  overthrew  a  sinless  pair ;  he  brought  sin 
into  our  fair  world,  filling  it  with  tears,  mourners,  graves, 
and  death.  And  yet  here  are  young  men  who  have  over- 
come him — men  of  like  passions  with  you  and  me — men 
who  fought  as  we  may  fight,  and  conquered  as  we  may 
conquer.  This  is  a  glorious  statement.  Thank  God 
that  it  was  ever  written.  I  fling  it  out  to  all  who  are 
faint-hearted.  I  would  write  it  on  the  banners  of  every 
church,  and  on  the  heart  of  every  disciple  in  the  world. 
Does  the  battle  grow  fierce  ?  Are  the  darts  of  the  enemy 
numerous  and  fiery  ?  Are  you  faint  and  ready  to  give 
up  ?  Above  the  din  of  conflict  come  the  words  of  Christ, 
**  Be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world."  And 
from  another  part  of  the  field  come  the  words  of  John, 
**  Ye  have  overcome  the  wicked  one."  Oh,  heart- 
inspiring  words  !  Young  men,  you,  too,  may  "  come 
off  more  than  conquerors."  Thanks  be  to  God  for  His 
matchless  grace  ;  sinful  men  may  stand  where  sinless 
angels  fell ! 

THE   apostle's    SOLICITUDE. 

John  was  solicitous  regarding  the  young  men.  In 
this  anxiety  he  acted  wisely.  In  comparative  youth 
many  have  achieved  greatness.  If  men  do  not  show 
signs  of  power  before  they  are  thirty  the  chances  are 
that  they  never  will ;  there  are  illustrious  exceptions,  we 


*un 


\  ■» 


126 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


know,  but  they  simply  prove  the  rule.  At  eighteen 
Alexander  the  Great  won  distinction  in  battle,  and  at 
twenty  he  ruled  the  world  ;  when  but  thirty-three  JeflFer- 
son  was  chosen  to  draught  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence ;  when  but  ^wenty-seven  Calvin  wrote  his  immortal 
**  Institutes,''  which  have  so  largely  shaped  the  theological 
thinking  of  the  world  ;  at  twenty-seven  Napoleon  **  ex- 
ecuted that  grand  campaign  in  Italy  which  stamped  him 
the  foremost  captain"  of  the  world,  and  which  hurled 
the  stricken  Austrians  back  to  their  endangered  capital ; 
when  scarcely  out  of  his  teens  Spurgeon  was  filling  the 
w^orld  with  his  fame  ;  while  still  young,  John  the  Bap- 
tist and  the  apostles  of  Jesus  achieved  glorious  results  for 
God  and  man.  And  it  was  as  a  young  man  that  Christ 
lived  and  kbored  for  a  lost  world  ;  it  was  the  life-blood 
of  a  young  man  which  He  poured  out  on  the  cross  for 
the  world's  salvation.  In  the  vigor,  freshness,  and 
bloom  of  young  manhood,  He  lived,  died,  and  rose 
again.  Had  He  lived  to  be  old  and  feeble  th**  effect,  to 
human  view,  would  be  disastrous.  And  as  a  young  man, 
the  God-man,  He  sits  on  His  mediatorial  throne  to  plead 
for  young  men  who  will  accept  His  proffered  love.  We 
know,  too,  that  from  our  young  men  must  come  the 
workers  in  all  departments  of  toil.  From  among  them 
are  to  come  our  merchants,  who  are  to  honor  or  disgrace 
the  name  Arnerican  at  home  and  abroad  ;  from  them 
must  come  those  who  as  physicians  are  to  stand  by  us 
and  those  we  love  in  sickness  and  death.  From  them 
are  to  come  those  who  are  to  vindicate  the  right  or  wink 
at  wrong  in  our  courts  of  law.  From  them  are  to  come 
those  who  stand  between  God  and  men  as  preachers  of 
the  "Word.  Shall  our  ministers  be  men  of  God  ?  Shall 
our  doctors  be  lovers  of  Christ  ?  These  are  questions  of 
the  greatest  moment.     Young  men  must  be  leaders  in 


i 


VICTORIOUS   YOUNG    MEN. 


127 


all  progressive  id  jvements  of  reform.  The  world  is  ad- 
vancing. We  ought  to  be  more  and  better  than  our 
fathers  were.  "We  ought  to  start  where  they  stopped. 
In  some  respects  progress  in  religion  is  impossible.  TVe 
CFi  have  no  new  gospel.  What  is  new  is  not  true  in 
this  regard,  and  what  is  true  is  not  new.  But  there  may 
be  progress  in  the  discovery  and  application  of  these 
truths.  In  intellectual  work  and  in  business  we  always 
adapt  our  methods  to  our  circumstances.  Precisely  so 
should  it  be  in  religion.  Progress  in  religious  work  is 
just  the  adapting  of  our  methods  to  our  circumstiinces. 
It  is  just  common  sense,  sanctified  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
From  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  young  men  must  lead 
in  making  these  adaptations.  And  no  church  can  be  in 
the  largest  sense  successful  which  has  not  in  it  a  body  of 
active,  consecrated  young  men.  Do  not  suppose  that  I 
disparage  one  class  to  exalt  another.  Each  has  its  place 
and  work.  The  cause  of  Christ  needs  young  men  for 
action  and  old  men  for  counsel.  Neither  ought  to  come 
in  conflict  with  the  other.  Thank  God  for  both.  While 
my  heart  is  stirred  with  tenderness  and  sympathy  as 
young  men  pray,  the  prayers  of  these  veterans  lift  me 
up  to  the  very  throne  of  God.  Many  of  you,  old  men, 
bear  in  your  bodies  the  scars  of  the  Christian  conflict. 
We  bless  God  for  the  enthusiasm  of  youth,  and  not  less 
for  the  wisdom  and  experience  of  age. 

Dear  young  people,  let  me  urge  you  to  come  as  lost 
and  helpless  sinners  to  the  cross  of  Christ.  Here  is  the 
true  starting-point  of  noble  lives.  It  is  sad  to  see  young 
men  and  women  assuming  the  duties  and  responsibilities 
of  life,  of  husbands  and  wives  and  parents  without  God 
and  without  hope.  It  makes  the  heart  weep  to  see  them 
live  as  if  there  were  no  God  ;  to  sit  at  tables  on  which 
God's  blessing  has  not  been  asked ;  to  sleep  and  wake, 


128 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED, 


and  never  lift  the  heart  to  God  in  gratitude  or  want.  If 
there  is  a  sight  that  might  malce  angels  weep,  it  is  a 
prajerless  mother.  Young  people,  to-day  thousands  the 
world  over  are  praying  for  you.  Pray  for  yourselves. 
Come  now  to  Christ.  Accept  the  offers  of  His  love. 
Stand  with  me  benf  ath  the  shadow  of  that  cross,  which 
is  at  once  the  symbol  of  God's  great  love  and  man's 
great  sin.  See  the  flowing  blood,  hear  the  dying  cry. 
Your  debt  is  paid.  Your  soul  may  bo  saved.  Believe 
and  live.  Let  your  weakness  lay  hold  of  the  strength  of 
the  Almighty  Christ.  Then  shall  you  be  **  strong ;" 
then  shall  He  who  is  the  **  Word  of  God  "  abide  in  you  ; 
then  shall  you  **  overcome  the  wicked  one."  And  then, 
at  the  last,  in  the  flush  of  triumph  and  the  glory  of  the 
resurrection  morning,  we  shall  together  sing,  with  deep 
humility  and  unspeakable  joy,  **  Thanks  be  unto  God, 
which  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 


;;[ 


I 


\M 


•»• 


X.      • 

A  COMPREHENSIVE  PRAYER. 

"  Unite  my  heart  to  fear  Thy  name.' '— Psa.  86  :  11. 

This  is  a  short  but  compreliensivo  prayer.  Uttered 
a  long  time  ago,  it  is  appropriate  still.  Beautiful  in 
thought,  it  is  also  poetic  in  form.  Like  a  strain  of  sweet 
music  it  has  lingered  for  years  in  my  mind.  It  has  often 
moulded  my  thinking  and  controlled  my  living. 

Let  us  look,  in  the  first  place,  at  the  meaning  of  this  pray- 
er, "  Unite  my  heart  to  fear  Thy  name."  Careless  read- 
ers may  fail  to  catch  its  significance.  There  is  here  a  rec- 
ognition of  the  truth  that  men  ought  to  love  God  with  all 
the  heart,  mind,  and  strength  ;  and  also  a  recognition  of 
the  sad  fact  that  men  do  not  so  love  God.  The  idea  is 
that  our  hearts  are  distracted,  that  our  affections  arc  set 
upon  various  objects  ;  and  the  prayer  is  that  they  may 
all  be  gathered  in,  and  united  in  loving  and  fearing  God. 
The  Apostle  James  tells  us  that  **  a  double-minded  man 
is  unstable  in  all  his  ways."  By  double-minded  he 
means,  as  the  Greek  shows,  a  man  who  has  two  souls, 
two  wills,  two  hearts — one  for  God  and  one  for  the  world. 
In  the  twelfth  Psalm,  second  verse,  we  have  the  lan- 
guage '*  with  a  double  heart  do  they  speak."  The  lit- 
eral rendering  of  the  Hebrew  is  *'  with  a  heart  and  a 
heart,''  as  in  another  place  we  have  **a  stone  and  a 
stone,"  meaning  divers  weights  ;  one  to  buy  with  and 
another  to  sell  with.  So  this  "  heart  and  a  heart"  pro- 
duce inconsistency  and  hypocrisy.     "With  one  heart,  the 


I 


I  r 


130 


CHKIST,    ANT)   IIIM   CULCIPIED. 


Psalmist  teaches  lis,  the  flatterer  gives  expression  to  the 
words  ho  uses  of  liia  nciglihor  ;  with  the  othi  r  hv,  rurc- 
fully  and  wnckedly  coturealn  his  true  dcsigiiH.  Such  a 
iiuiii  is  unworthy  of  our  conndenco  nnd  love.  In  First 
Ciironicles  wo  road  of  "  fifty  tiiousaud  laon  who  could 
keep  rank  ;  they  woro  not  of  double  heart.'*  The  last 
phrase  literally  rendered  is,  "  Who  were  not  of  a  heart 
and  a  heart."  They  had  but  one  purpose — the  triuniph 
of  their  own  arms  and  the  lionor  of  their  kin^.  The 
man  with  '*  a  heart  and  a  heart*'  will  be  found  striving 
to  serve  God  and  mnmmon.  Such  servieo  is  impossible. 
The  heart  was  made  by  God  and  for  Ilim.  Although  an 
instrument  of  many  strings,  all  are  intended  to  blend  in 
a  song  of  i)rai8e  to  the  great  Creator.  As  an  roolian  harp 
gives  forth  melody  when  the  wind  passes  throngh  it,  so 
the  heart  should  breathe  out  its  responses  of  love  and 
obedience  when  the  breath  of  God  comes  to  it  in  entreaty 
or  comtnand.  But  the  sad  truth  mnst  bo  acknowledged 
— the  heart  is  out  of  tune.  An  unskilful  or  malicious 
player  has  dared  to  interfere  with  God's  instrument. 
Some  of  its  cords  are  drawn  too  tightly  ;  some  are  slack- 
ened unduly  ;  some  are  broken  entirely.  Instead  of  har- 
mony wo  have  discord  ;  instead  of  praise  we  have  the 
wild  notes  of  revelry.  Eden  has  given  place  to  Babel  ; 
and,  if  no  counteracting  law  comes  a  to  check  the  down- 
ward tendencies  of  the  natural  heart,  Babel  will  become 
hell. 

Now,  if  by  the  strings  of  this  instrument  we  under- 
stand the  faculties  of  the  soul,  the  idea  of  the  text  will 
appear  plain.  By  these  faculties  we  mean  memory, 
reason,  taste,  imagination,  conscience,  and  others.  Let 
any  unconverted  man  examine  these  faculties,  and  he 
will  at  once  understand  the  meaning  and  necessity  of  the 
words,  **  Unite  my  heart  to  fear  Thy  name."    How  is  it 


A   COMPREHENSIVE    PRAYER. 


131 


the 


I  he 

Ihe 

it 


with  meniory  ?  Do  you  prefer  to  romemher  those  truths 
which  would  lead  you  to  love  and  ohcy  God  ?  or  do  you 
not  rennMnber  the  vile  oath,  the  impure  thoujrht,  and  the 
devilish  Ruj^gestion  longer  than  the  flonnon,  the  hymn, 
or  tlie  prayer  ?  QucRtion  your  reaeon.  What  is  its  testi- 
mony ?  It  too  often  perverts  the  truth — making  the 
worse  appear  the  better  reason.  So  of  taste,  in  litera- 
ture, art,  and  religion.  Imagination  is  oftener  the  ser- 
vant of  evil  than  of  good.  The  Imd  is  selected— the 
good  is  discarded.  Amid  these  perverted  faculties  con- 
science stands  like  a  moral  policeman.  It  is  true  that 
some  men  have  learned  the  secret  of  city  rogues  ;  they 
either  drug  or  fee  this  officer.  Then  their  hearts  may 
be  for  a  time  united  ;  but  it  is  a  union  with  death. 
There  may  for  a  little  time  be  peace  ;  but  it  is  the  peace 
of  the  grave.  There  may  be  a  compact ;,  but  it  is  a  league 
with  hell.  Ordinarily,  however,  conscience  remains  com- 
paratively free  from  the  alliances  of  the  devil. 

Armed  with  the  power  of  truth,  and  backed  by  the 
might  of  God,  conscience  lifts  its  warning  voice  and  sum- 
mons all  the  other  faculties  to  lay  down  their  weapons, 
cease  their  strife,  and  march  in  line  to  the  throne  of  the 
King,  seeking  His  gracious  pardon.  There  is  a  tremen- 
dous **  oughtness"  in  the  place  assigned  by  our  very 
moral  constitution  to  conscience.  To  change  the  figure. 
The  unrenewed  heart  is  a  house  divided  against  itself  ; 
Christ  said  such  a  house  could  not  stand.  Conscience  is 
the  only  pillar  left  standing,  and  it  shows  signs  of  weak- 
ness. Now,  this  conflict  must  ceace.  The  entire  man 
belongs  to  Jesus.  Rebellion  on  our  part  does  not  abro- 
gate His  claims.  Christ  should  sit  on  the  throne  of  the 
heart.  Conscience  thunders  YES.  Pride,  passion,  and 
lust  say  NO.  Such,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  is  the 
conflict  in  the  heart  of  every  unconverted  man.    Do  yuu 


132 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


feel  tliiit  my  words  are  true  ?  Is  the  picture  a  genuine 
one  ?  Do  you  acknowledge  that  you  are  well-nigh  help- 
less in  this  warfare  ?  Then  lift  now  to  Christ  this  prayer, 
**  Unite  my  heart;"  take  this  long-divided  heart,  and 
make  it  Thine  ;  gather  up  my  scattered  affections,  and 
set  them  on  Christ  and  heavenly  things — "  Unite  my 
heart  to  fear  Thy  name."  Make  this  your  prayer,  and 
then  by  a  joyous  experience  shall  you  know  the  meaning 
of  this  text. 

Secondly,  let  me  speak  of  the  reasons  for  offering  this 
prayer.  I  mention  three,  and  1  begin  with  the  lowest  ; 
a  proper  regard  for  our  own  happiness  would  lead  us  to 
offer  it.  You  may  charge  me  with  assigning  an  unwor- 
thy motive  for  the  performance  of  a  Christian  duty. 
You  may  say  that  duty  ought  to  be  performed  because  it 
is  duty,  because  it  is  right  in  and  of  itself.  True.  This, 
nevertheless,  is  a  proper  motive.  God  has  given  each  of 
us  the  instinct  of  self-love,  and  the  desire  to  seek  our 
own  happiness.  He  has  thus  through  our  organization 
revealed  His  will  in  this  respect ;  and  He  has  added  to 
that  revelation  by  all  the  truths  of  His  "Word.  He  de- 
sires us  to  be  happy.  He  takes  no  pleasure  in  our  suffer- 
ings either  here  or  hereafter.  It  is  true  that  the  desire 
for  happiness  is  not  in  itself  a  high  motive.  Holiness  is 
better  than  happiness,  holiness  will  always  produce  hap- 
piness. But  God  takes  us  where  He  finds  us.  He  ap- 
plies the  motive  which  promises  the  desired  result ;  and 
then  He  lifts  us  to  a  higher  plane. 

Now  no  man  can  be  happy  while  his  desires  and  affec- 
tions are  at  war  w^th  one  another.  While  two  antagonistic 
powers  within  a  man  are  at  the  same  time  claiming  au- 
thority over  him,  he  must  be  essentially  miserable. 
Whilp  Bnnyan  remained  in  the  City  of  Destruction, 
after  he  became  aware  that  it  was  such  a  city,  he  was 


A   COMPREHKNSIVE   I'UAYER. 


133 


k  ... 


miserable  indeed.  Actual  imprisonment  of  the  body  in 
Bedford  Jail  were  better  far  than  this  awful  distraction 
and  enslavement  of  the  mind  and  soul.  When  God 
burned  into  the  heart  of  Carey  a  senae  of  his  duty  in 
preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen,  it  became  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  be  happy  until  he  did  that  duty.  Good, 
pious  conservatism  might  say  to  nim,  as  it  has  often  said 
since  to  the  zeal  and  enthusiasm  born  of  God  in  the 
hearts  of  young  men :  *'  Young  man,  sit  down  ;  if  the 
Lord  wants  to  convert  the  heathen  He  will  do  it  without 
your  help."  But  Carey's  desire  was  as  tire  in  his  bones. 
He  must  go  ;  with  such  feelings  a  desire  for  his  own 
peace  and  happiness,  even  if  there  were  no  higher  mo- 
tive, would  compel  him  to  go.  It  is  always  true  that  in 
the  end  the  path  of  duty,  however  rough  it  may  seem, 
is  the  path  of  joy. 

There  is  a  young  man  preaching  the  Gospel  to-day 
who  once  felt  that  he  never  could  perform  that  duty. 
On  bended  knee  he  promised  the  Lord  tliat  he  would 
give  of  earthly  means  to  send  another  in  his  place.  His 
heart  was  not  united.  Conscience,  wrought  upon  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  said,  Go.  Desire,  ambition,  the  hopes  and 
dreams  of  all  his  previous  life  said.  No.  His  agony  was 
great ;  it  became  unendurable.  It  brought  him  to  his 
knees  in  deep  anguish.  He  must  yield  or  bid  adieu  to 
joy,  peace,  heaven.  He  did  yield,  and  he  has  found 
that  joy  in  Christ  is  inseparable  from  obedience  to  Christ. 
Could  I  describe  fully  the  feelings  of  some  of  you,  I 
should  have  a  too  true  illustration  of  the  statement  that 
a  desire  for  your  own  peace  should  lead  you  to  offer  this 
prayer.  There  are  those  who  have  long  felt  that  they 
ought  to  be  Christians.  Sometimes  they  are  almost  de- 
cided to  yield  ;  at  other  times  they  almost  determine 
never  to  come  to  the  house  of  God,  never  to  talk  on  re- 


:  i\ 


134 


CHKIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


I 


i 


I 


T 


:    I 


ligion  ;  in  short,  to  give  up  the  whole  subject.  They 
are  supremely  miserable  — dibsatisfied  with  the  world,  but 
not  reconciled  to  God  through  Christ.  Now,  let  me  ap- 
peal for  once  to  your  self-love.  It  is  a  low  motive,  1 
know.  But  let  even  that  be  tiie  means  whicli  God  shall 
use  to  lead  you  to  give  yourselves  wholly  to  Ilim.  Give 
up  the  foolish,  the  wicked  contest.  Ground  your  arms. 
Touch  the  outstretched  sceptre  of  mercy.  Acquaint 
yourselves  now  with  God  and  be  forever  at  peace. 

I  speak  now  of  a  second  reason  for  offering  this  prayer 
— the  desire  to  be  not  only  happy  yourselves,  but  to 
make  others  so — the  desire  to  be  useful  in  Christ's  ser- 
vice. It  is  a  trite  remark  among  business  and  profes- 
sional men,  that  to  be  eminently  successful  in  any  pur- 
suit a  man's  heart  must  be  in  it.  A  half-hearted  man  is 
a  failure  anywhere  and  everywhere.  You  would  not 
give  much  for  a  3'oung  man  in  your  employ  who  had  no 
interest  in  your  prosperity,  and  no  enthusiasm  in  his  pro- 
fession. If  you  expected  him  ever  to  accomplish  any- 
thing for  himself  and  ever  to  be  worth  anything  to  you, 
you  would  say  to  him  :  **  Young  man,  unite  your  heart 
in  my  work."  It  has  recently  been  discovered  that  the 
clerks  in  one  of  the  stock  exchanges  in  London  were 
carrying  on  among  themselves,  and  for  their  own  inter- 
ests, separate  transactions.  They  had  their  own  books, 
officers,  and  times  and  places  of  meeting.  It  is  said  that 
they  are  all  to  be  discharged.  They  were  half-hearted 
in  the  service  of  their  employer.  They  were  drawn 
hither  by  self-interest,  and  thither  by  the  interest  of 
their  employers.  Such  clerks  business  men  do  not  want 
in  their  service.  Neither  will  God  in  His  service  share 
the  heart  with  man  or  devil.  A  bank  president  was  con- 
gratulated on  his  success.  He  replied  that  his  secret  was 
in  taking  his  bank  to  bed  with  him.    We  all  understand 


A    COMPIIEHEXSIVE    PRAYER. 


135 


his  meaning.  His  whole  heart  was  in  his  work.  He  was 
in  dead  earnest.  Such  a  man,  in  business  or  reh'gion,  \.ill 
always  make  things  come  to  pass.  Wo  have  referred  to 
David's  army — the  fifty  thousand  who  were  not  of  a 
**  heart  and  a  heart."  This  is  a  proud  eulogy.  They 
were  animated  by  one  overmastering  purpose.  Each 
heart  was  single  ;  the  army  had  but  one  aim.  They  had 
not  one  heart  for  the  battle,  and  another  for  their  homes. 
They  had  no  personal  ends  to  serve.  They  believed  in 
God  ;  they  rejoiced  in  David  ;  they  were  determined  to 
cleave  for  him  a  way  to  the  throne.  This  unity  of  heart, 
this  oneness  of  purpose,  makes  fifty  thousand  men  more 
than  five  hundred  thousand  who  hesitate  and  waver. 

Let  love  of  liberty  unite  the  hearts  of  Englishmen. 
Put  the  invincible  Cromwell  at  their  head,  and  the  ends 
of  the  earth  shall  shake  under  their  mighty  tread.  Let 
love  of  glory  inflame  the  minds  and  unite  the  hearts  of 
France,  and  Napoleon  will  illumine  the  darkness  of  the 
night  with  the  fires  of  battle,  and  cloud  the  sun  at  noon- 
day with  the  smoke  of  conflict.  He  will  sweep  over 
Europe  like  a  fiend  of  destruction  from  the  pit.  His 
armies  were  but  a  great  engine  of  desolation.  Every 
heart  beat  in  his.  There  was  but  one  soul  in  all.  1 
might  stir  your  enthusiasm  by  enumerating  victories 
nearer  home,  and  naming  men  under  whose  inspiration 
some  of  you  of  the  North  and  some  of  you  of  the  Soutii, 
rushed  into  the  jaws  of  death,  and  won  victories  on  the 
gory  field.  In  grander  fields,  too,  oneness  of  aim  and 
singleness  of  purpose  have  triumphed.  Think  of  Paul. 
What  is  the  secret  of  his  life  on  the  human  side  ? 
*'  This  one  thing  1  do."  He  was  a  man  of  one  idea — 
an  idea  so  broad  that  it  took  in  all  the  other  noble  ideas. 
Marvellous  man  !  His  shadow  is  projected  everywhere 
in  the  Roman  Empire.    He  dwarfs  the  missionaries  uf 


136 


nililST,    AXD   HIM   CKUCIFIED. 


I     ■! 


our  day.  His  gigantic  inind,  his  loving  heart,  and  his 
tireless  body  bowed  down  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  rose 
one  with  himself  and  one  with  Christ.  Why  need  1 
multiply  examples  ?  Range  over  all  history,  in  politics, 
literature,  science,  art,  and  religion,  and  the  secret  of 
success  in  all  is  that  men  put  their  whole  being,  heart, 
and  brains  into  their  work,  and  under  God  they  suc- 
ceeded. A  church  with  fifty  persons  in  it,  loyal  to  God 
and  true  to  the  souls  of  men,  working  with  one  heart 
and  soul,  and  led  on  by  a  noble  and  godly  pastor,  will  do 
more  for  God  and  men  than  five  hundred  average  church- 
members.  With  such  a  force  behind  him,  and  God 
above  him,  a  pastor  might  soon  take  this  great  city  for 
Christ.  Oh,  for  the  wisdom  of  the  heroic  Gideon  I  Let 
the  war-cry  again  go  out  as  at  the  battle  of  Jezreel,  by 
the  **  Spring  of  Trembling" — "  Whosoever  is  fearful 
and  afraid,  let  him  return  and  depart  early  from  Mount 
Gilead."  What  if  there  should  return  of  the  people 
*'  twenty  and  two  thousand  ?"  Better  ten  thousand  with 
one  heart,  than  thirty-two  thousand  **  with  a  heart  and 
a  heart.''  The  cowards  are  now  gone.  But  "  the  peo- 
ple are  yet  too  many."  Another  test  must  be  applied. 
The  self-indulgent  as  well  as  the  cowardly  must  be  re- 
moved. Those  who  rushed  headlong  to  quench  their 
thirst  are  therefore  rejected.  But  those  who  exercised 
eell-restraint,  marching  to  battle  while  they  lapped  the 
water,  were  selected.  Poor  Gideon,  all  are  gone  but 
three  hundred  I  Happy  Gideon  !  For  the  Lord  said  : 
*'  By  the  three  hundred  men  that  lapped  will  I  save  you, 
and  deliver  the  Midianites  into  thine  hand  ;  and  let  all 
the  other  people  go  every  man  unto  his  place. "  Awake 
ye  sleepers,  the  '^  cake  of  barley  bread"  will  roll  into 
the  camp  and  hurl  the  royal  tent  to  the  earth.  He 
divides  his  men  ;  he  surrounds  thocamp  ;  the  cry,  **  The 


It 


A    COMPREHEXSIVE   PRATER. 


i.'j: 


(f* 


sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon"  rends  the  midnight 
air.  The  blowing  of  the  horns,  the  crashing  of  the 
pitchers,  and  the  blazing  of  the  torches  break  npon  the 
stillness  of  the  night.  Midianite  drew  his  sword  against 
Midianite.  Headlong  they  rushed  down  the  descent  to 
the  Jordan.  Terrible  was  the  slaughter.  Glorious  was 
the  victory.  And  over  the  Jordan  went  Gideon  and  his 
brave  three  hundred,  '*  faint,  yet  jjursuing."  Three 
hundred  men  with  united  hearts  were  better  than  thirty- 
two  thousand  '*  with  a  lieart  and  a  heart."  The  Church 
needs  the  lesson.  It  needs  to  be  weeded  to-day.  Her 
half-hearted,  lukewarm  disciples  are  dead  weights  in  her 
progress.  They  are  vampires  that  suck  her  life-blood 
while  they  lull  her  to  sleep  with  their  fanning  wing. 
Perhaps  we  need  again  the  fagot  and  the  flame  ;  the 
stake  and  the  rack.  "Well  is  it  when  those  who  are  of 
**  a  heart  and  a  heart"  go  back  to  their  homes  that  the 
brave  may  win  for  truth  and  God. 

These  principles  apply  to  denominational  life.  Men 
who  are  half-hearted  in  holding  the  distinctive  truth  of 
their  denomination  are  hindrances  to  its  progress.  The 
Episcopal  denomination  is  stronger  because  of  th«^  ab- 
sence of  the  party  that  went  out  with  Bishop  Cummings, 
than  they  could  possibly  be  with  their  presence.  As 
soon  as  that  party  was  not  of  them  just  so  soon  should 
they  go  out  ^rom  them.  There  is  a  law  of  denomina- 
tional gravitation,  which  like  that  of  natural  gravitation 
must  be  obeyed,  or  the  most  injurious  consequences  will 
follow.  Honesty,  manliness,  godliness  requires  that 
when  we  cannot  harmonize  with  a  denomination  we 
should  leave  it.  The  events  of  the  last  few  weeks  in  our 
own  denomination  show  the  importance  of  this  law  of 
gravitation.  '*  And  being  let  go,  they  went  to  their 
own  company."     Those  who    are    true   will  remain. 


w 


n 


ii 


fi! 


138 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CIIUCIFIED. 


They  Win  march  on  to  victory.  Perhaps  sometimes 
**  faint,"  but  always  ^*  pursuing,- '  as  faithful  disciples  of 
a  greater  than  Gideon,  they  will  go  on  "  conquering  and 
to  conquer." 

As  Christians  in  your  denominational  and  individual 
life,  you  will  be  happy  in  yourselves,  and  useful  to 
others,  in  proportion  as  you  daily  offer  this  prayer, 
*'  Unite  my  heart  to  fear  Thy  name."  Do  not  attempt 
to  serve  God  and  at  the  same  time  love  yourselves  su- 
premely. Do  not  attempt  to  cherish  the  Christian's  hope, 
while  you  refuse  to  render  the  Christian's  obedience. 
Do  not  strive  to  be  a  Christian  and  refuse  publicly  to 
confess  Christ  in  His  appointed  ordinance  of  baptism. 
Such  conduct  brings  leanness  into  your  souls  and  dis- 
honor on  your  Saviour.  Be  true  to  yourselves  and  your 
God,  and  you  will  be  both  happy  and  useful.  Offering 
this  prayer  in  all  sincerity  you  will  soon  hear  the  *'  Peace 
be  with  you,"  of  Christ's  benediction,  and  the  "  Go 
preach  My  Gospel,"  of  Christ's  commission. 

The  last  reason  for  offering  this  prayer  is,  that  the  honor 
and  command  of  God  demand  that  we  give  Him  a 
united  heart.  These  three  reasons,  you  will  perceive,  are 
related.  The  last  includes  the  others  ;  for  if  we  give 
Christ  our  united  heart,  and  devote  to  Him  our  lives,  we 
shall  be  useful  to  others,  and,  being  useful  to  others,  we 
shall  be  happy  in  ourselves.  God  made  us  to  love  Him 
alone  with  the  wUo^o  heart.  The  command  so  to  love 
Him  is  a  summary  of  all  His  commands.  The  soil  of  the 
heart  was  made  to  bear  wheat  only  ;  it  was  the  hand  of  an 
enemy  that  sowed  tares.  The  heart  was  made  always  to 
pant  after  God,  and  to  find  its  joy  and  peace  only  when 
reposing  on  His  bosom.  In  order  that  we  may  have  joy 
in  ourselves,  be  r.-seful  to  others,  and  be  loyal  to  Christ, 
we  must  have  a  united  heart  in  Christian  service.     Every 


A   COMPUEUENSIVE   PUAYER. 


139 


■f.is 


thought,  motion,  and  desire  should  be  in  subjection  to 
the  will  of  Christ.  Such  a  state  of  feeling  is  the  pledge 
and  foretaste  of  lieaven.  Every  storm  of  passion  is 
hushed,  and  the  whole  current  of  our  feeling  flows 
toward  God.  "We  speak  of  heaven  as  a  place  of  music, 
because  music  is  our  highest  conception  of  harmony. 
In  proportion  as  this  divine  harmony  is  in  the  soul  now, 
in  that  proportion  is  heaven  in  the  soul  even  now. 
Christ  is  the  great  Reconciler  between  the  faculties  of 
the  soul  and  between  the  soul  and  God.  I  lift  before 
you  the  cross  of  Christ.  Will  you  now  **  look  and  live  ?" 
Will  you  now  accept  Christ  as  your  only  hope  ?  *  *  Behold 
the  Lamb  of  God,"  and  looking  to  Him  find  life.  So 
lovely  and  loving  is  Jesus,  that  even  those  of  us  who  gave 
Him  our  hearts  in  the  morning  of  life  and  in  the  dew  of 
youth  can  say  in  the  simple,  tender,  and  emotive  utter- 
ance of  Augustine  :  **  Too  late  I  love  Thee,  O  Thou 
Beauty  of  ancient  days,  yet  ever  new  ;  too  late  1  love 
Thee  !"  With  a  greater  than  Augustine  we  can  pray, 
**  Unite  my  heart  to  fear  Thy  name,"  and  with  a  grea^^^er 
than  David,  **  Not  my  will  but  Thine  be  done.'* 


5.1' 


ii 


.. 


I 


Is 


i 


:      11' 


XI. 
OUR  LORD'S  MYSTERIOUS  SORROW. 

' '  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death.' ' — Matt.  26  :  38. 

Our  object  this  morning  is  to  discuss  some  of  the  ele- 
ments of  our  Lord's  mysterious  sorrow  in  the  garden. 
The  subject  is  one  of  deep  solemnity  and  great  tender- 
ness. Not  at  all  times,  nor  in  all  frames  of  mind  and 
heart,  is  it  fitting  to  discuss  such  a  subject  as  this.  As 
Moses  removed  his  shoes  when  he  approached  the  holy 
ground  ol  the  burning  bush,  so  should  we  strive  to  ban- 
ish all  unholy  thoughts  when  we  walk  beneath  the  olive 
trees  of  Gethsemane  and  gaze  on  the  cross  of  Calvary. 
The  history  of  the  race  is  one  of  sin  and  sorrow  ;  it  is 
also  one  of  grace  and  glory.  Three  wonderful  gardens 
are  there  in  that  history — Eden,  Gethsemane,  Paradise. 
Lost  in  Eden,  we  were  redeemed  in  Gethsemane,  and 
those  who  are  thus  redeemed  shall  be  glorified  in  Para- 
dise. The  first  is  a  history  of  sin  and  sorrow  on  our 
part ;  the  second  is  a  history  of  sorrow  without  sin  on 
Christ's  part ;  the  last  will  be  a  scene  of  neither  sin  nor 
sorrow.  AYe  look  with  shame  to  Eden,  with  sorrow  to 
Gethsemane,  and  with  humble,  holy  joy  to  Paradise. 
.But  Gethsemane  we  must  visit  before  we  can  reach  Para- 
dise.    To  that  scene  of  sorrow  let  us  go  this  morning. 

We  go  out  of  the  eastern  gate  of  the  city  of  Jerusa- 
lem, down  a  steep  and  abrupt  hill,  across  the  bed,  over 
which,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  passes  the  dark- 
flowing  Kedron,  and  now  on  owr  right  lies  the  Garden 


OCR   LORD  S   MYST£UIOL'S  SORROW. 


141 


N 


of  Getlisemane.  It  is  a  small  plot  of  ground,  nearly 
square,  and  now  surrounded  with  a  fence  of  rough  stone 
surmounted  with  stucco.  Within  the  enclosure  are  eight 
venerahlo  olive  trees.  Beneath  the  shade  of  perhaps 
similar  trees  Christ  bowed  in  His  agony.  It  is  night  in 
Jerusalem.  The  lights  are  out.  The  streets  are  silent. 
The  pilgrims  are  in  their  tents  on  the  hill-side  asleep. 
The  moon  at  this  Passover  season  shines  brightly.  Christ 
and  eleven  of  His  disciples  pass  over  the  track  we  have 
described  and  enter  the  garden.  Eight  disciples  are  left 
near  the  entrance  ;  three — the  elect  within  the  elect,  the 
three  who  were  admitted  to  witness  the  miracle  of  rais- 
ing the  ruler's  daughter,  the  three  who  had  been  with 
Him  **  in  the  holy  mount,"  and  having  seen  the  glory 
of  the  transfiguration  were  prepared  for  the  humiliation 
of  the  garden — He  takes  with  Him  to  a  little  distance 
within  the  shade  of  the  garden.  And  now  the  wave  of 
His  mysterious  sorrow  rolls  over  Him.  Even  from 
these  He  withdraws  Himself  a  little  space.  He  prays  ; 
He  returns  ;  He  departs  to  pray  again  ;  He  returns  ; 
He  departs  ;  He  kneels ;  He  falls  prostrate  ;  He  ago- 
nizes ;  great  drops  as  it  were  blood  fall  upon  the  ground. 
He  triumphs.  The  contest  is  over  ;  the  conquest  is 
won.  He  returns  in  calmness  to  His  sleeping  disciples 
and  awaits  in  perfect  peace  the  approach  of  His  be- 
trayer. This  great  sorrow  is  something  to  us  **  who 
pass  by."  We  shall  *'  Behold  and  see  if  there  be  any 
sorrow  like  unto  His  sorrow,  wherewith  the  Lord  afflicted 
Him  in  the  day  of  His  fierce  anger." 

This  is  a  mysterious  sorrow.  Some  of  its  elements, 
however,  we  can  understand.  Let  us  reverently  ex- 
amine these,  and  see  whether  they  will  explain  its  in- 
tensity and  bitterness.  If  not,  another  cause  will  be 
suggested.     The  ingratitude  of  those  for  whom  He  lived 


H 


U2 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


'i 


;i    •! 


and  died  was  an  element  in  that  sorrow.  Christ  was 
keenly  alive  to  every  exprossion  of  ingratitude.  There 
are  many  hints  giN'en  of  this  fact.  He  healed  ten  lepers. 
[Nine  went  their  way  ;  one  returned  to  express  joy  and 
gratitude.  Christ  asks  sadly  after  the  nine  selfish  and 
ungrateful  ones.  He  said  mournfully  that  lie  came 
unto  His  own,  but  they  received  Him  not.  His  heart 
revealed  its  deep  loneliness  when  He  compared  Himself 
with  the  foxes  who  had  holes,  and  the  birds  who  had 
nests,  while  He  had  not  where  to  lay  His  head.  Earth, 
cursed  by  sin,  hud  no  resting-place  for  its  Maker  and  Lord. 
When  it  would  exalt  Him  it  did  so  by  a  cross  ;  when  it 
would  crown  Him  it  did  so  with  thorns.  How  a  child's 
ingratitude  breaks  a  patent's  heart !  How  the  ingrati- 
tude of  the  poor  dries  up  the  fountains  of  love  in  tho 
hearts  of  the  benevolent  rich  I  Christ  was  subject  to  a 
similar  law.  His  nation's  ingratitude  and  hate  were  a 
heavy  sorrow.  His  own  family  even  did  not  believe  in 
Him.  The  people  who  shouted  '^  Hosanna"  one  day, 
shouted  '*  Crucify"  the  next.  Is  it  not  also  true  that  the 
ingratitude  of  all  rejecters,  in  every  age,  was  present  to 
His  mind  ?  If  so,  then,  friends,  our  hardness  of  heart, 
our  unbelief,  our  disobedience,  was  an  element  in  Christ's 
sorrow.  You  unconverted  children  of  godly  parents, 
hearers  but  not  doers  of  the  "Word,  you  rolled  a  wave  of 
sorrow  over  Christ's  soul.  Oh  look  to-day  into  that  gar- 
den where  Jesus  groans  and  prays  for  you  I  See  His 
tear-stained  face  !  Hear  His  agonizing  moan  !  Then  let 
your  heart  break  and  your  stubborn  will  relent.  Oh 
friends  unreconciled  to  God,  your  ingratitude,  your 
procrastination  and  disobedience  are  wicked  and  cruel  1 
Cease  now,  1  pray  you,  this  weak  and  wicked  rebellion. 
I  would  win  you  to  Christ  now-^now  while  we  gaze  oil 
Him  in  tho  garden. 


ouii  lord's  MYSTEUIOLS  SOUIJOW. 


143 


The  treachery,  denial,  and  desertion  on  the  part  of 
His  friends  made  another  element  in  tlmt  namGless  Bor- 
row. While,  as  wo  sliall  see  befi>re  we  close,  this  sor- 
row was,  in  sonio  of  its  elements,  far  above  human 
thought,  in  other  elements  it  wjih  intensely  human.  It 
was  sad  enough  to  Christ  that  (;f  all  that  vast  host  tiiat 
welcomed  Ilim  on  Sunday  there  should  not  be  one  on 
Friday  to  utter  a  word  in  llis  i)ehalf.  It  was  sad  enough 
that  of  all  the  thousands  whom  he  had  cured,  fed,  and 
blessed  in  so  many  ways,  not  one  would  stand  by  Ilim 
in  Pilate's  hall.  There  was  but  one  who  spoke  a  word 
in  His  defence,  and  that  one  did  not  belong  to  the  chosen 
people — the  wife  of  the  heathen  Pilate.  But  saddest  of 
all,  in  the  chosen  twelve  one  was  a  betrayer,  one  a  de- 
nier, and  all  were  deserters.  "  They  all  forsook  Ilim 
and  fled."  Oh,  base  ingratitude  !  Oh,  shameful  cow- 
ardice !  But  shall  I  speak  harshly  of  them  and  not  also 
justly  of  ourselves  'i  Their  minds  were  distracted  with 
many  doubts  which  now  are  cleared  away.  They  groped 
in  the  dawn  ;  we  walk  in  the  noon-day.  Their  sin  was 
great  ;  ours  is  greater.  Many  times  since  then  has 
Christ  been  denied,  deserted,  betrayed,  by  His  professed 
friends.  In  social  life,  in  the  marts  of  trade,  in  the  halls 
of  sinful  amusement,  Jesus  has  been  despised  and  re- 
jected. And  all  this  He  foresaw.  That  wicked  act  of 
yours  last  week  was  a  pang  in  Christ's  heart.  That 
absence  from  the  house  of  God  ;  that  neglect  of  family  or 
secret  prayer — oh,  these  were  part  of  Christ's  great  sorrow 
on  that  terrible  night !  Shall  we  continue  in  sin  ?  Can 
we,  dare  we,  love  and  practice  that  which  slew  our  Lord  ? 

The  sorrows  to  which  His  people  would  be  exposed 
were  an  element  in  that  grief.  The  joys  and  sorrows  of 
His  people  Christ  made  His  own.  On  this  Thursday 
night  Ho  realized — perhaps  even  more  thaii  He  did  on 


144 


CHKIST,    AND   HIM   CHUCIFIED, 


ii 


^   -li 


'■-<l       'i' 


the  previous  Sunday,  when  IIo  wept  over  Jerusalem — 
what  tlio  Jewish  nation  incurred  by  His  rejection.  He 
saw  that  Jerusalem,  the  city  of  song  and  story,  would 
soon  be  destroyed.  He  siiw  that  (iod's  chosen  people 
would  soon  be  scattered  over  the  earth.  All  the  horrors 
of  the  awful  siege  of  Jerusalem  were  present  to  His 
view.  Koman  horses  were  to  bathe  their  fetlocks  in 
Jewish  blood.  Parents  in  the  pangs  of  hunger  were  to 
destroy  their  own  children.  They  would  have  no  king 
but  Ciesar.  God  gave  them  their  wish,  and  Caisar 
crushed  them  to  the  earth.  Scattered  over  the  world, 
despised  and  hated  of  all  men,  the  Jews  were  to  see  their 
land  trodden  by  the  foot  of  the  heathen  Koman  and  the 
infidel  Turk.  Their  prayer  was  answered.  The  blood 
of  Christ  was  upon  them,  not  to  save  but  to*  destroy. 
Kow,  to  Jesus  as  a  man,  a  patriot,  and  a  Saviour,  the 
blindness  and  madness  of  His  people  became  a  cause  of 
intense  and  bitter  grief.  He  saw,  too,  the  sorrows  which 
were  to  come  on  Christian  believers.  Those  of  His 
nation  who  accepted  Him — as  well  as  those  who  rejected 
Him,  though  in  different  ways— were  to  suffer  sorrow. 
Of  all  the  disciples  witli  Him  in  the  garden,  John  was 
the  only  one  who  was  to  die  a  natural  death.  James 
first  was  to  seal  his  testimony  with  his  life.  Peter,  like 
his  Lord,  was  to  be  crucified.  The  discij^les  who  after- 
ward believed  on  His  name  were  to  suffer  persecution. 
Stephen,  from  the  fast-falling  shower  of  stones,  was  to 
go  up  to  Christ  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  Paul  was 
present  to  Christ's  view — Paul  '*  fighting  with  beasts  at 
Ephesus,"  ''  shamefully  entreated  at  Philippi,"  cruelly 
imprisoned  and  beheaded  at  Rome.  Huss,  Luther,  Bun- 
yan,  thousands  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,  suf- 
fering for  their  Lord — these  were  in  Christ's  thoughts — 
these  added  to  Christ's  grief. 


OUK   lord's   MYdTERlOrs  SORROW. 


145 


There  was  also  a  shrinking  from  the  painful  and  shame- 
ful duuth  of  the  cross.  Let  us  not  hcpitute  to  say  so. 
Christ  was  truly  a  man.  True  manhood  is  not  indiffer- 
ent  to  danger  and  suffering.  Coarse  and  brutal  natures 
may  ^sume  a  stoicism  which  refined  and  cultivated  na- 
tures cannot  manifest.  Dr.  Parker,  in  "  Ecce  Dcus," 
finely  illustrates  this  thought.  **  Suffering,''  he  says, 
**is  a  question  of  nature.  The  educated  man  suffers 
more  than  the  uneducated  ;  the  poet  probably  suffers 
more  than  the  mathematician  ;  the  commanding  officer 
suffers  more  in  a  defeat  than  the  common  soldier.  The 
more  life,  the  more  suffering,  the  billows  of  sorrow  being 
in  proportion  to  the  volume  of  our  manhood.  Now, 
Jesus  Christ  was  not  merely  a  man  ;  He  was  man  ;  and 
by  the  very  compass  of  His  ii'anhood  He  suffered  more 
than  any  mortal  can  endure.  The  storm  may  pass  as 
fiercely  over  the  shallow  lake  as  over  the  Atlantic,  but 
by  its  very  volume  the  latter  is  more  terribly  shaken." 
Christ's  physical  organization  even,  was,  doubtless,  ex- 
quisitely sensitive.  Then  there  were  the  moral  issues 
involved.  Perhaps  it  is  true,  as  has  been  claimed,  that 
Christ  died  of  a  literally  broken  heart.  He  certainly 
keenly  felt  the  pain  and  disgrace  of  His  ignominious 
death.  To  assume  even  for  a  time  the  character  of  a 
felon  is  to  a  holy  soul  painful  in  the  extreme.  Actors 
of  high  reputation  find  it  opposed  to  their  taste  to  repre- 
sent a  character  famous  only  for  vileness.  Christ's  shrink- 
ing was  natural  and  proper.  It  is  a  mark  of  honor  and 
glory  befitting  the  God-man.  I  give  due  weight  to  all 
these  considerations.  But  I  affirm  that  they  do  not  of 
themselves  account  for  His  deep  and  awful  sorrow.  He 
must  have  known — He  foretold  it  many  times — that  He 
was  to  rise  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day.  The  grave 
could  not  hold  Him.    His  physical  sufferings  at  the  worst 


146 


CHRIST,    AND   RIM    CRUCIFIED. 


would  be  short.  The  victory  was  near.  It  was  to  ho  a 
brief  darkness  followed  by  a  never-ending  brightness. 
Who  can  believe  this  was  more  tlian  an  clement — and 
compared  v/ith  other  elements  an  unimportant  one — in 
His  sorrow  ?  Martyrs  in  Christ's  name  and  for  His  sake 
have  gone  joyfully  to  the  stake.  They  have  shouted 
amid  fagots  and  flames.  They  liave  gone  to  the  block 
siiiging  songs  of  triumph.  They  have  lain  in  prisons  of 
dampness  and  darkness  until  the  chains  rusted  into  their 
flesh.  Wives  and  mothers  have  torn  themselves  from 
husbands  and  children  to  die  for  Jesus.  We  have  read 
of  Leonida.4  and  his  brave  three  hundred  who  stopped 
the  onward  march  of  the  Persians  at  Thermopylae,  giv- 
ing their  lives  joyfully  for  their  countr3^  We  know  of 
England's  lovely  queen  who  sucked  the  poison  frofn  the 
wound  of  the  king,  her  consort,  though  she  knew  that 
death  would  be  the  result  of  her  heroism.  Again  and 
asjain  have  brave  soldiers  rushed  in  to  take  the  death- 
blows  intended  for  their  commanders.  The  pages  of 
history  contain  the  names  of  many  such.  Much  more 
has  willingness  to  suffer  for  Christ  been  seen.  What 
glorious  names  come  to  us  as  wo  speak  !  There  are 
thousands  who  are  suffering  a  daily  martyrdom  for  His 
sake.  There  are  women  tied  to  drunken  and  godless 
husbands  and  sweetly  living  for  Christ,  dying  a  thousand 
deaths,  while  they  live  a  single  life.  Upheld  by  the 
blessed  hopes  of  the  Gospel,  they  never  utter  a  murmur. 
At  this  hour  there  are,  believe  it,  friends,  thousands  who 
would  gladly  lay  down  their  lives  for  the  Master,  rather 
than  deny  Him.  Think  you,  then,  that  simple  fear  of 
physical  death  could  have  so  burdened  and  crushed  the 
Son  of  God — ihe  Lord  of  life  and  glory  ?  A  thousand 
times  No.  There  was  that :  there  was  far  more  than 
that. 


OUR  lord's  mysterious  sorrow. 


147 


Another  considerat'on  ifl  that  Satan  was  permitted  at 
this  time  to  tempt  Christ  with  peculiar  power.  Satan 
tempted  Jesus  in  the  wilderness  and  was  repulsed.  He 
left  Him  *'  for  a  season."  He  now  returned.  It  was 
tlie  last — the  death-struggle.  It  was  the  world's  crisis. 
The  old  conflict  is  to  be  settled  forever.  It  is  the  *'  hour 
and  the  power  of  darkness."  In  one  garden  truth  was 
crushed  and  error  triumphed.  The  first  Adam  was  over- 
thrown, shall  the  second  Adam  ?  If  so  the  knell  of  hu- 
manity may  be  rung.  On  the  result  of  the  conflict  in 
this  garden  depends  the  possibility  of  entering  paradise. 
If  Satan  triumph  now  God  is  no  more  God.  Hell  appre- 
ciates the  struggle.  Its  artillery  is  hnrled  against  the 
bowed  sufferer.  What  an  hour !  What  a  conflict  ! 
Here  let  our  hearts  break  hi  sympathy  with  our  broken- 
hearted Lord.  Oh  be  not  indifferent  when  for  you 
Christ  is  meeting  the  temptations  of  Satan  !  Christ  is 
warding  off  eternal  death  and  hell.  Behold,  behold, 
Him  in  His  great  agony  !  Never  was  there  sorrow  like 
that  of  our  Jesus.  Never  was  there  victory  like  that  of 
our  Jesus.  Blessed  be  His  name  !  He  struck  the  sceptre 
from  the  hand,  and  the  crown  from  the  brow  of  Satan, 
and  won  a  glorious  and  eternal  victory  for  His  saints. 
He  led  captivity  captive  and  won  gifts  for  men. 

The  true  explanation  of  the  mysterious  sorrow  in  the 
garden  and  the  awful  agony  v:>n  the  cross — as  seen  in  the 
cries  to  God  uttered  in  both  places — is  that  Chiist,  the 
God-man,  the  divine  Substitute,  was  bearing  in  some 
way  the  iniquities  of  a  lost  world.  This  is  a  holy  of 
holies.  It  seems  almost  irreverent  to  judge  with  a  critic's 
coolness  these  awful  experiences.  But  such  is  the  teach- 
ing of  Scripture,  alike  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
"  He  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities."  '*  The  Lord  hath 
laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.*'     "It  pleased  the 


148 


CHRIST,    AND    HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


m 


Lord  to  bruise  Him."  Oh,  no,  the  cup  conld  not  pass 
from  Him  !  He  drained  it  to  the  very  dregs.  **  He  liath 
made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us  v  lio  knew  no  sin."  He  was 
**  made  a  curse  for  us."  *'  Who  His  own  self  bare  our 
sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree."  He  consented  to 
have  our  sins  laid  upon  Him.  He  is  treated  as  the  trans- 
gressor. Oh  matchless  love  !  Oh  transcendent  and  sov- 
ereign grace  I  Blessed  doctrine  of  divine  substitution  I 
God  has  found  a  way  to  save  the  lost.  Heaven  is  opened 
to  the  vilest.  With  Paul  we  can  exclaim,  **  Oh  the 
depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge 
of  God  !"  Away  with  the  shallow  human  philosophy 
which,  by  ignoring  the  real  facts,  attempts  to  rob  this 
awful  and  blessed  truth  of  its  meaning.  Tell  us  not  that 
Christ  died  merely  as  a  martyr.  On  that  theory  explain 
the  facts  if  you  can.  A  true  philosophy  must  accept  all 
the  facts.  Answer,  Socinianiem.  Answer,  modern 
philosophy.  In  this  explanation  of  Christ's  sorrow  we 
believe  scriptural  prophecy,  historical  fact,  and  apostolic 
reasoning  all  beautifully  agree.  **  Let  God  be  true" 
though  all  human  theories  be  false. 

There  is  a  practical  application  of  these  truths.  First, 
we  see  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin.  How  lost  was 
man  when  nothing  short  of  such  a  sacrifice  could  save 
him  !  Christ  cried  out  in  tears  and  agony  when  He  stood 
before  God  in  the  sinner's  place.  How  terrible  must  it 
be  for  a  sinner,  on  his  own  behalf,  to  attempt  to  stand 
before  God  !  Christ  sank  for  a  time  under  the  weight 
of  sins  not  His  own.  How  shall  we  meet  God  with  sins 
upon  us  which  are  our  own  ?  Second,  we  see  here,  as 
nowhere  else,  the  love  of  God  in  Christ.  Marvellous 
love  !  No  mind  can  conceive,  no  heart  can  feel,  no 
tongue  declare  its  greatness.  The  world  is  full  of  evi- 
dences of  God's  love,     ft  is  whispered  in  the  winds,  it 


outt  lokd's  mysterious  sorrow. 


149 


pass 
liaih 

was 
J  our 
jd  to 
rans- 

sov- 
tion  ! 
)ened 
a  the 
ledge 
iopliy 
3  this 
►t  that 
splain 
3pt  all 
lodern 
)W  wo 
Dstolic 

:riie" 

First, 
bt  was 
d  save 

stood 
oust  it 

stand 
weight 
th  sins 
ere,  as 
vrellous 

el,  no 
oi  evi- 

nds,  it 


flashes  in  the  sunlight,  but  here  is  its  grandest  (display. 
'*  God  so  loved  the  world."  Third,  the  duty  of  imme- 
diate submission  to  Christ  is  manifest.  It  is  folly  in  the 
extreme  to  refuse  the  great  salvation,  and  dare  the  wrath 
of  a  holy  and  just  God.  Men  and  women,  in  God's 
name  I  admonish  you  to-day,  come  and  give  yourselves 
to  this  great  Saviour. 

Turn  now  from  the  cold  ground  beneath  the  olive's 
shade,  where,  on  that  Thursday  night  Jesus  began  to 
give  the  ransom  for  your  soul.  Look  to  that  cross  on 
which  on  Friday  He  completed  the  purchase  price.  See 
Him  bowing  His  head  in  death.  Hear  His  triumphant 
cry,  "  It  is  finished  ! "  That  cross  is  at  once  the  world's 
hope  and  the  world's  condemnation.  It  is  at  once  the 
proof  of  God's  great  love  and  man's  great  sin.  I  lift  it 
before  you.  Stop,  travellers  to  eternity,  it  is  something 
to  you  that  Jesus  dies  !  Is  there  any  sorrow  hke  Christ' s  ? 
But  I  ask  no  maudlin  sympathy  and  sentimental  pity  for 
Jesus.  It  is  not  for  Him  but  for  you  that  I  plead. 
Look  from  the  garden  of  agony  and  the  cross  of  shame 
to  the  throne  of  glory  on  which  now  He  sits.  Cast  your- 
selves as  helpless  sinners  at  His  feet,  exclaiming,  with 
adoring  Thomas,  *' My  Lord  and  my  God,"  and  then 
shall  you  be  able  joyously  to  say,  "  Therefore,  being 
justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God,  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ." 


li 


w 


»1 


f,i 


lii 


1 

- ."  * 

1 

i 

■il 

1 

■■i\ 

¥  '1 

: 

i  i 

'^    1 

i'-     ii 

^-        us 

i  i 

1 

i 

^ 

•"J 

XII. 
THE  PROMISE  OF  THE  COMFORTER. 

And  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give  yon  another  Com- 
forter,  that  lie  may  abide  with  you  forever." — Johx  14  :  16. 

Some  of  you  are  aware  that  the  exposition  of  these 
last  discourses  of  our  Lord  has  occupied  our  attention 
on  Sunday  mornings  during  the  entire  summer.  Con- 
tinuing this  series  of  sermons  we  have  reached  this  morn- 
ing the  verse  now  read  as  the  text.  This  verse  opens 
for  us  the  great  and  precious  promises  which  abound  in 
this  part  of  our  Lord's  discourse.  It  was  sad  enough 
for  the  disciples  that  Jesus  must  leave  them  ;  it  was 
sadder  still  that  He  must  leave  them  by  death.  It  was 
saddest  of  all  that  He  must  die  the  death  of  a  slave  and 
a  felon.  In  order  to  conifort  them  Christ  gave  them 
this  precious  promise  which  I  have  now  read,  the  prom- 
ise of  the  speedy  coming  of  the  divine  Paraclete — "  And 
I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give  you  another 
Comforter,  that  He  may  abide  with  you  forever." 

1.  Notice,  at  the  outset,  that  the  blessing  promised 
was  to  come  in  connection  with  the  prayer  of  Jesus, 
^^  And  I  will  pray  the  F'aiher,  and  He  shall  give  you 
another  Comforter."  We  are  not,  however,  to  suppose 
that  the  prayer  was  absolutely  necessary  to  the  coming 
of  the  Comforter.  The  Spirit  and  the  Father  were  as 
nmch  interested  in  the  work  of  the  Son  as  it  was  possi- 
ble for  the  Son  Himself  to  be.  When  we  speak  of  the 
prayers  of  Christ  we  must  remember  that  they  are  to  be 


THE   PROMISE   OF  THE   COMFORTER. 


151 


broadly  distinguished  from  our  prayers.  We  make  con- 
fession of  sin  ;  we  invoke  divine  forgiveness.  There  is 
no  confession  of  sin  in  the  prayers  of  the  Son  of  God  ; 
no  invocation  of  pardon  is  anywhere  to  be  found  in  these 
k  petitions.  He  had  no  sin  to  confess  ;  He  needed  no 
forgiveness.  His  prayers  are  not  those  of  an  inferior  to 
a  superior,  not  the  prayers  of  a  suppliant  beseeching  for 
a  gratuity  ;  the^'  are  simply  the  declarations  of  His  sov- 
ereign will,  He  standing  on  the  platform  of  conscious 
equality  with  God  the  Father.  Any  other  conception 
of  Christ's  prayers  will  be  false  to  the  true  exegesis  of 
the  passages  in  which  they  are  mentioned,  and  false  also 
to  Christ's  character.  The  very  words  here  imply 
Christ's  conscious  equality,  familiarity,  and  perfect  in- 
timacy with  God.  His  prayer  is  simply  a  declaration  of 
His  sovereign  will  to  His  Father,  asking  for  that  which 
He  knows  the  Father  loves  to  bestow.  God  is  always 
represented  in  the  economy  of  redemption  as  the  source 
whence  all  streams  of  blessing  flow  ;  or,  changing  the 
figure,  He  is  represented  as  the  great  foundation  on 
which  the  magnificent  superstructure  of  redemption  is 
erected.  There  is,  then,  the  most  entire  harmony  be- 
tween the  sacred  Three  in  all  the  work  of  man's  salva- 
tion. We  have  in  this  verse,  in  a  very  striking  way, 
all  the  three  persons  of  the  Trinity  present  for  our  con- 
templation. It  is  rare  that  you  have  each  person  of  the 
Trinity  suggested  so  clearly  within  the  compass  of  a 
single  verse.  The  Son  is  represented  as  on  the  earth 
offering  His  prayer,  the  Father  as  giving  the  Spirit,  and 
the  Spirit  as  coming  to  comfort  the  disciples. 

Our  Lord  on  another  occasion  brought  out  very  fully 
for  us  the  work  of  each  person  in  the  Trinity.  I  refer 
to  the  occasion  of  the  nocturnal  visit  of  Nicodemus  to 
Jesus.     If  you  will  go  back  to  that  instance  you  will  re- 


inr, 

'1  f 


■iU'._.i«H" 


153 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


«;; 


W  1 


member  that  nowliere  in  all  the  epistles,  ana  no  where 
else  in  the  gospels,  is  the  work  of  each  person  of  the 
Trinity  brought  out  so  clearly.  The  very  fact  that  it 
was  a  secret  interview  with  an  intelligent  man  and  an 
earnest  inquirer,  explains  Christ's  full  and  free  revela- 
tion of  Himself.  It  is  full  of  significance.  Men  have 
said  that  Christ  changed  His  methods  of  instruction 
toward  the  latter  part  of  His  life  ;  that  He  became  bitter, 
and  uttered  invectives  aga'TiSt  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees, 
because  of  the  disappointment  of  His  entire  career.  The 
interview  with  Nicodemus  occurred  before  the  delivery 
of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount ;  and  in  that  interview  He 
clearly  teaches  us  that  He  understood  He  was  to  die. 
The  cross  lifted  itself  gloomy  and  grand  before  Him  in 
that  interview.  He  saw  Himself  dying  thereon.  He 
taught  us  then  that  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He 
gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life  ;"  that 
"  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even 
BO  must  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up.'*  You  have  in  this 
conversation  attention  directed  to  the  work  of  God  the 
Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Spirit  in  human  re- 
demption ;  and  in  the  compass  of  the  text  you  have  that 
same  broad  range  of  truth  suggested.  Here  we  have  the 
Trinity  in  sublimest,  divinest  harmony  in  the  work  of 
human  redemption,  and  the  Spirit  promised  in  connection 
•with  the  prayer  of  Jesus. 

2.  You  notice,  in  the  second  place,  that  the  blessing 
promised  is  that  of  another  Comforter — **  And  1  will 
pray  the  Father  and  He  shall  give  you  another  Comfort- 
er.''^ The  word  translated  Comforter  is  found  only  in 
the  writings  of  John.  You  look  in  vain  for  it  in  all 
other  portions  of  Scripture.  "We  have  it  four  times  in 
the  Gospel  recorded  by  John,  as  coming  from  the  lips  of 


THE   PROMISE   OF   THE   COMPOUTER. 


153 


Jesus.  We  find  it  once  in  the  first  Epistle  of  John,  2  :  1. 
In  the  Gospel,  where  the  word  is  nsed  by  Christ  and 
is  apph'ed  to  the  third  person  of  the  Trinity,  it  is  trans- 
lated Comforter ;  in  tlio  epistle,  where  it  is  applied  to 
Jesus,  it  is  translated  Advocate.  In  both  instances  the 
word  is  the  same  ;  it  is  the  divine  Paraclete. 

Commentators  divide  at  the  interpretation  of  this  word 
generally  into  two  classes.  The  first  class  prefer  to  trans- 
late the  word  Paraclete  by  our  word  Comforter  ;  the 
other,  Advocate.  The  fact  is  that  there  is  no  one  word  in 
our  language  which  will  adequately  express  the  idea  of 
the  word  Paraclete.  The  word  Comforter  is  too  spe- 
cific, too  limited  in  its  range.  The  word  Advocate  is  ad- 
mirable when  applied  to  the  work  of  God  the  Son,  as  the 
word  is  used  in  the  passage  in  the  epistle,  to  which  I 
have  already  referred  ;  but  neither  is  broad  enough  and 
comprehensive  enough  to  express  all  the  richness,  glory, 
and  blessedness  of  the  idea  wrapped  up  in  the  word  Par- 
aclete. If  we  look  at  the  word  itself  a  little  more  close- 
ly, we  shall  discover  that  it  is  made  up  of  a  verb  mean- 
ing to  call,  to  summon,  and  of  a  preposition  meaning 
by  the  side  of.  So  the  verb  and  preposition  together 
mean,  one  summoned  to  our  side.  As  concerning  the 
sacred  meaning,  it  comes,  of  course,  to  bo  one  summoned 
to  our  side  to  render  us  spiritual  help.  It  means  not 
simply  to  comfort  us  in  sorrow,  not  simply  to  advocate 
our  case  before  a  judicial  tribunal,  but  also  to  perform 
many  other  ofiices.  Our  word  Comforter  comes  to  us 
from  Wyckliffe,  and  he  doubtless  used  it  in  the  sense  of 
the  Latin  confortari^  which  has  a  broader  meaning  than 
comfort,  as  we  now  use  that  word  ;  the  word  comfort 
doubtless  had  the  broader  meaning  earlier  in  the  history 
of  our  language,  meaning  to  sLrengthen  greatly. 

We  have  only  to  remember  that  in  Oriental  countries, 


^1   I 


154 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CllUCIFIED. 


M    !  'f 


and  in  ancient  times,  it  wns  quite  common  for  those  who 
were  summoned  to  appear  before  courts  to  have  friends 
come  as  their  patrons  ;  tliese  were  called  in  Greek  para^ 
cletes^  or,  using  the  corresponding  term  in  Latin,  advo- 
cates.    They  were  not  hired   pleaders  ;    their  services 
were  gratuitous.     They  were  generally  men  of  large  so- 
cial influence,   sometimes  men  of  political  power,  and 
they  stood  by  the  person  arraigned  before  the  tribunal, 
to  give  their  legal  knowledge,  their  social  influence,  and 
to  help  in  any  one  of  the  many   ways  in  which  it  was 
possible  for  them  to  render  aid.     Exactly  that  idea  is  in- 
cluded in  the  word  Comforter.     A  prominent  part  of  the 
office  of  the  Comforter,  especially  when  Christ  spake  the 
text,  was  to  give  comfort  in  the  simple,  natural,  ordinary 
sense  of  that  term.     That  the  disciples  needed  ;  but  it 
was  only  a  part  of  the  work  of   the   divine   Paraclete. 
His  work  is  fully  specified  for  us  later  in  the  chapter. 
He  was  to  guide  the  disciples  into  all  truth  ;  He  was  to 
take  the  things  of  Christ  and  make  them  known  to  them. 
Looking  at  the  history  of  the  Church  we  see  what  the 
work  of  the  Spirit  has  been  in  different  ages  and  coun- 
tries.    In   the   Reformation   period,  as   Dr.  Owen  sug- 
gests. His  work  was  that  of  an  Illuminator.     The  Word 
of  God  had  been  sealed  ;  the  Spirit's  influence  came  to 
illumine  the  sacred  page  and  the  minds  of  its  readers. 
There  was  a  twofold  blessing  given  to  the  disciples  as 
they  walked  to   Emmaus  ;   their  eyes  were  opened  and 
the  Scriptures  were  opened.     There   was  this   twofold 
blessing  all  through  the  period  of  the  lieformation.    Only 
the  Spirit,   through  whose   guidance  these  words  were 
written,  can  rightly  interpret  these  words.    O.Jy  as  they 
are  read  in  the  light  that  He  bestows  can  they  be  under- 
stood.   No  one  can  fully  interpret  the  Word  of  God  but 
the  Spirit  of  God.     You  bring  from  the  Word  what  you 


THB   PROMISE   OF  THE   COMFORTER. 


155 


'8. 

as 
id 


ire 

fey 


Oil 


have  eyes  to  see  ;  you  iind  what  you  have  discernment 
to  discover  and  hearts  to  understand.  No  num  can  en- 
joy the  ocean  but  he  who  has  oceans  in  liis  soul  ;  no  man 
can  appreciate  mountains  but  he  who  has  mountains  on 
his  brain.  No  man  can  understand  this  wondrous  revela- 
tion of  God  if  ho  have  not  the  Spirit  of  God  in  his  own 
soul.  It  thus  comes  to  pass  that  many  simple-minded 
Christians,  with  no  show  of  learning,  understand  the 
mind  of  the  Spirit  better  than  profound  scholars  who 
have  not  the  mind  of  the  Spirit.  This  is  in  harmony 
with  a  general  law.  To  one  man,  even  Raphael's 
**  Transfiguration"  is  only  so  much  painted  canvas, 
while  to  another  it  is  a  work  of  matchless  beauty  and 
transcendent  genius.  The  latter  has  trained  eyes  to 
discover  its  beauty,  and  cultivated  taste  to  appreciate  the 
triumph  of  its  peerless  art.  So  with  the  Word  of  God. 
In  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  to  illumine.  Take  the  time  of  Carey,  Judson, 
and  other  of  our  great  missionaries  ;  then  the  special 
work  of  the  Spirit  was  to  awaken  the  desires  and  hearts 
of  His  people  to  their  duty  in  spreading  the  truth.  I 
think  to-day  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  is  on  the  side  of 
practical  Christianity  ;  on  the  side  of  all  forms  of  practi- 
cal benevolence — the  reaching  down  to  the  lowly,  and 
using  all  the  power  of  truth,  and  all  the  agencies  of  the 
Church  of  God  for  the  conversion  of  men. 

There  never  was  a  time  when  the  Church  was  more 
practical  than  to-day.  Men  sometimes  have  the  idea 
that  the  best  times  of  the  Church  are  in  the  past,  that 
the  world  is  growing  worse.  It  is  not.  The  Church 
was  never  more  intelligent,  more  benevolent,  and  more 
consecrated  than  at  this  time.  The  world  is  feeling  the 
blessed  influence  of  the  Church,  lifting  it  to  a  higher 
plane  and  supporting  it  thereon.     This  is,  in  my  judg- 


'HFm 


I 


I    1 


I 


f 

to 

1: 


It: 


i  I 


150 


CHItlST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


ment,  the  Bpecial  work  in  wliich  the  Paraclete  is  using 
His  influence  now.  You  see,  therefore,  both  from  the 
meaning  of  the  word  itself,  and  from  the  actual  work  of 
the  Spirit  all  through  the  history  of  the  Church  of  God, 
that  the  word  Comforter  or  Advocate  is  too  limited  to 
express  the  full  idea  which  God  has  wrapped  up  in  the 
word  Paraclete.  Light  also  comes  upon  it  from  another 
quarter,  and  that  is  in  the  use  of  the  word  **  another"  in 
this  connection.  We  are  taught,  that  what  Christ  was 
to  the  disciples,  that  the  Spirit  would  be  to  them  and  to 
us.  We  are  taught  that  He  was  to  take  up,  continue, 
and  complete  the  work  which  Christ  began.  Christ 
Himself  had  not  ceased  as  their  Advocate,  but  He  had 
changed  the  sphere  of  His  activity.  He  is  now  our  Advo- 
cate with  tlie  Father,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Father's 
Advocate  with  us.  There  is  thus  a  twofold  process  of 
advocacy  constantly  going  forward,  Christ  pleading  with 
God  for  us,  and  the  Spiiit  pleading  with  us  for  God. 
Whatever  Christ  did,  therefore,  during  His  personal 
ministry,  that  the  Spirit  was  now  to  continue  to  do  ;  for 
He  was  to  be  another  Paraclete.  Christ's  work  during 
His  ministry  was  not  only  that  of  a  Comforter,  but  more. 
And  now  He  tells  us  as  He  is  about  to  go  that  the  Spirit 
will  be  another  Paraclete.  The  Spirit  is  here  to  do  simi- 
lar service,  to  carry  forward  the  work  to  the  triumph 
of  the  Church,  the  conversion  of  the  world,  and  the 
glory  of  the  Triune  God. 

3.  You  will  notice,  in  the  third  place,  that  we  are 
taught  here  that  the  Spirit  is  to  have  a  permanent  resi- 
dence in  the  Church  ;  that  *'  He  may  abide  with  you 
forever y  This  is  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit.  I  have 
called  your  attention  before  to  the  fact  that,  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  we  had  the  incarnation  of  the  Spirit. 
In  the  manner  at  Bethlehem  we  had  the  incarnation  of 


"* 


m 


Is 


THE   PROMISE   OF  THE   COMFOKTER. 


157 


of 


the  second  person  of  the  Trinity,  and  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  we  had  the  incarnation  of  the  third  person  of 
the  Trinity.  Christ  had  been  in  the  workl  for  limited 
periods  previous  to  Ilia  coming  for  thirty-three  and  ono 
half  years.  So  the  Spirit  had  been  in  the  world  pre- 
vious to  His  incarnation  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  But 
just  as  Christ,  after  His  birth  in  the  manger  at  Bethle- 
hem, was  incarnated  in  a  fuller  manifestation,  so  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost  the  incarnation  of  the  Spirit  was  more 
complete  and  glorious. 

I  have  long  felt  that  we  make  too  little  of  this  won- 
drous truth  ;  long  felt  that  only  in  a  limited  sense  ought 
we  to  pray,  **  pour  out  thy  Spirit."  He  is  here.  Hu- 
man souls,  redeemed  by  divine  grace,  are  the  *'  temples 
of  the  Holy  Ghost."  When  Christ  was  here,  He  was 
not  in  a  temple  ;  He  only  tabernacled,  only  tented. 
This  is  distinctly  stated  :  *'  The  Word  was  made  flesh  and 
dwelt,  tented,  among  us.''  The  ditference  between  a 
tent  and  a  home  is  suggested  by  the  contrast  between 
Christ's  temporary  residence  and  the  Spirit's  permanent 
abode.  Before  the  Exodus,  the  children  of  Israel  tented, 
and  had  also  a  tent  as  God's  house.  But  when  they  had 
possession  of  the  land,  when  the  throne  was  established, 
then  God  was  no  longer  to  be  worshipped  in  a  tent,  but 
in  a  temple.  Precisely  as  Israel  dwelt  in  a  tent  did 
Christ  tabernacle  in  ilio  flesh  ;  but  the  Spirit's  presence 
is  permanent,  for  the  promise  is  that  **  He  may  abide 
witli  you  forever."  Christ  could  not  abide  ;  that  was 
not  the  plan  in  the  unfolding  of  the  eternal  thought  of 
God  in  human  redemption.  Each  person  in  the  blessed 
Trinity  had  His  part  to  perform.  Christ  performed  His 
in  His  perfect  life  and  atoning  death,  and  in  His  glorious 
ascension  ;  He  continues  to  perform  it  by  His  interces- 
sion at  the  ria:ht  hand  of  God.     I  think  it  fitting,  as 


•«r 


fm 


158 


CHRxST,    AXD   HIM   CRUCIFIia 


'. 


illustrating  this  thought,  that  I  should  once  more  remind 
you  of  the  relation  between  the  **  Acts  of  the  Apostles'* 
and  the  Gospels.  The  book  might  better  be  called  the 
*'  Acts  of  the  Lord"  than  the  ''Acts  of  the  Apostles." 
There  is  no  evidence  that  the  title  was  given  by  divine 
inspiration,  no  evidence  that  it  was  affixed  by  Luke.  It. 
is  not  the  work  of  the  apostles  to  which  our  attention  is 
chiefly  directed  ;  it  is  still  to  the  work  of  the  divine  and 
ascended  Redeemer.  This  is  suggested  in  the  opening 
of  the  book  :  *'  The  former  treatise  have  1  made,  O 
Theophilus,  of  all  that  Jesus  be(/an  both  to  do  and 
teach,  until  the  day  in  which  He  was  taken  up."  And 
now  he  goes  on  to  tell  of  all  Jesus  continues  to  do  after 
He  had  been  taken  up.  Christ  is  still  working.  His 
pierced  palm  is  on  the  helm  of  the  universe.  His  will 
dominates  the  world.  His  power  rules  the  nations.  From 
His  lofty  watch-tower  in  the  heavens,  He  is  controlling 
all  events  for  the  glory  of  His  name  and  the  triumph  of 
His  truth.  He  continues  to  work  there,  and  the  other 
Paraclete  continues  to  work  here.  This,  I  repeat,  is  the 
dispensation  of  the  Spirit.  This  is  ano  ler  unfolding  of 
God's  plan.  We  saw  part  of  the  finished  work  in  the 
Old  Testament  ;  but  we  see  the  fullest  in  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 

Friends,  wc  ought  to  emphasize  this  truth  ;  we  ought 
to  exalt  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  ought  to  give 
Him  the  place  that  Christ  gave  Him — that  of  another 
Comforter.  You  have  sometimes  wished  that  you  might 
have  seen  Jesus.  If  you  could  but  carry  yourself  back 
to  that  time,  you  would  have  all  the  prejudices  that  the 
people  of  that  time  had.  Were  you  to  go  to  Palestine 
to-day  you  would  be  disappointed.  There  would  be  no 
place  except  a  limited  circle  about  Jacob's  well,  walk- 
ing in  which  you  could  be  sure  that  your  feet  were  where 


THE   PROMISE   OP  TIIK   CoMFORTKK. 


159 


Christ's  hafl  been.  Tlie  IkiikIs  of  friencU  and  fucp,  imd 
the  tooth  of  time,  have  tirsiced  tho  phy^^icid  mctnoriuls 
of  Christ's  presence.  Pulestine  is  not  so  full  of  Jesus  to- 
day as  is  New  York.  Even  Gethsemnno  would  fail  to 
move  you  as  yon  had  hoped  and  prayed.  It  would  not 
bo  a  blessing  had  Christ  remained  upon  the  earth  in  phys- 
ical form  till  now.  He  know  hotter,  for  lie  said,  ''  It 
is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away,  for  if  I  go  not  away 
the  Comforter  will  not  come.*'  Clirist  when  npon  tho 
earth  in  physical  form  had  only  a  local  presence.  If  He 
were  in  one  place  Ho  could  not  be  in  another  at  tho 
same  time.  But  now  Ho  is  gone,  and  the  S[)iiit  has 
come,  filling  tho  hearts  of  His  people,  interpreting  His 
word,  carrying  forward  forever  the  triumphs  of  His  king- 
dom. Right  in  line  with  this  thought  is  seen  the  mis- 
take of  those  who  make  too  much  of  the  premillennial 
advent  of  Christ.  I  think  that  conception,  when  unduly 
pressed,  robs  the  Spirit  of  something  of  tho  honor  which 
Christ  places  upon  Him.  This,  I  repeat  once  more,  is 
the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit.  Ho  is  here,  carrying  tho 
Church  into  the  brighter  glories  of  its  certain  future. 
If  Christ  in  His  personal  presence  were  here,  I  cannot  seo 
how  He  would  control  events  more  successfully  than  the 
promised  and  present  Paraclete  is  doing. 

Men  are  just  the  same  now  as  were  the  disciples. 
When  going  out  to  the  eastern  declivity  of  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  some  of  the  disciples  asked  Christ  if  He  were 
now  to  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel,  and  what  did  He 
say  ^  This:  "It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times  or 
tlie  seasons,  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  His  own  power. 
But  ye  shall  receive  power,  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
come  upon  you  :  and  3^0  shall  be  witnesses  unto  Me  both 
in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto 
the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth."    Men  are  more  anxious 


T 


160 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


! 


to  be  prophets  than  witnesseL.  Your  work  and  mine  is 
to  witnesB  for  Christ,  by  Christly  lives,  by  pure  words, 
and  by  noble  deeds. 

Let  us  recognize,  good  friends,  the  continual  presence, 
and  rejoice  in  the  glorious  power  of  the  Spirit  of  Truth. 
He  abides  with  us  forev  er.  Did  you  notice  that  word 
*'  forever  ?"  Do  yoti  tiiink  it  will  be  robbed  of  its  mean- 
ing at  the  tomb  or  grave  'i  Forever  He  is  to  abide  with 
us,  interpreting  the  things  of  Christ.  Oh,  what  lessons 
we  are  to  learn  when  we  are  face  to  face  with  Jesus  in 
His  kingdom,  and  the  Spirit  is  Avith  us,  forever  inter- 
preting the  things  of  Christ  !  May  we  now  be  under 
the  continual  guidance  of  the  blessed  Paraclete  !  May 
He  lead  us  into  all  truth,  taking  the  things  of  Christ  and 
showing  them  unto  us  !  Only  as  we  are  thus  led  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  do  we  prove  to  ourselves  and  to  others  that 
we  are  the  sons  of  God. 


i  til 


Hi 


II 


XIII. 
CHARACTER  AND   BESTINY. 

"  And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment 
righteoas  into  life  eternal." — Matt.  25  :  46. 


but  the 


We  are  this  evening  to  discuss  the  subject  of  Future 
Punishment.  It  is  a  solemn  and  painful  subject.  At- 
tention has  been  called  to  it  recently  in  a  variety  of  vviiys. 
This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  The  old  ground  has  to 
be  gone  over  again  every  few  years,  in  the  case  of  all 
truths  and  errors.  A  new  generation  has  come  up  since 
there  has  been  a  thorough  discussion  of  this  subject.  It 
is  fitting  that  it  be  looked  at  afresh.  No  lover  of  truth 
has  anything  to  fear  from  the  earnest  examination  of 
God's  Word.  Truth  may  bo  crucified  or  for  a  time 
buried  ;  but  it  will  eventually  come  down  from  the  cross, 
or  up  from  the  grave,  and  take  its  rightful  place  on  the 
throne.  Truth  loves  the  light.  Error  alone  dreads  and 
avoids  it. 

Much,  however,  depends  upon  the  spirit  in  which  such 
examinations  and  discussions  take  place.  A  controversial 
spirit  is  bad  always  and  everywhere.  It  is  especially  bad 
in  connection  with  so  solemn  a  subject  as  this.  An  hum- 
ble, teachable,  and  devout  temper  is  always  commend- 
able. It  is  absolutely  indispensable  here.  "  The  secret 
of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  Him."  "He  that  is 
spiritual  judgeth  all  things."  Every  science  has  its  pe- 
culiar difficulties,  which  give  way  only  to  him  who  pos- 
sesses the  appropriate  scientific  spirit.     Tlie   discovery 


4: -T 


'1*1 


■M 


mmm 


1!| 


r  '  !i 


'n 


:  I 


162 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


and  declaration  of  the  truths  of  God's  Word  are  no  excep- 
tion. 

Personal  feeling  must  give  way  before  the  eternal 
verities  of  God's  revelation.  Painful  though  this  subject 
is,  I  dare  not  pass  over  it.  If  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
would  say,  **  I  am  free  from  the  blood  of  all  men,"  he 
must  also  be  able  to  say,  '*  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare 
unto  you  all  the  counsel  of  God."  I  am  not  hereto 
apologize  for  God  ;  I  am  here  to  declare  His  truth.  He 
is  able  to  protect  His  character  and  to  defend  His  Word. 
He  needs  no  apology  from  any  of  His  creatures.  Who 
are  we  that  we  should  judge  the  Eternal  ?  "  Shall  not  the 
Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right  ?"  When  Christ  speaks 
we  are  to  listen.  Ours  it  is  to  sit  at  His  feet  and  learn 
the  words  of  wisdom  which  fall  from  His  grace- anointed 
lips.  He  knows  whereof  He  affirms.  He  came  from 
the  bosom  of  God  ;  He  returned  to  the  throne  of  the 
majesty  on  high.  He  voiced  the  thought  of  the  eternal 
God.  He  is  the  eternal  God.  He  spoke  as  one  having 
authority.  The  Word  of  the  Lord  Jesus  before  that  of 
Canon  Farrar  or  Mr.  Beecher  any  day  ! 

It  does  not  seem  necessary  for  me  to  prove  that  there 
is  a  future  life  of  some  kind,  neither  need  I  prove  as  a 
separate  proposition  that  there  is  a  hell.  If  it  can  be 
shown  that  punishment  is  eternal,  then  there  must  be  a 
place  or  condition,  or  both,  of  such  punishment.  It  is 
needless  to  hunt  through  the  Old  Testament  chasing 
after  Sheol,  or  through  the  New  Testament  after  Gehenna 
and  UadeSy  wearying  you  with  a  statement  of  the  num- 
ber of  times  they  are  mentioned,  and  the  shades  of  mean- 
ing in  which  they  are  used.  It  is  admitted  by  all,  who 
have  any  definite  belief  at  all  on  these  subjects,  that 
those  dying  in  impenitence  and  sin,  suffer  punishment  in 
some  form  and  some  degree.     Is  that  punishment  end- 


CHARACTER   AND    DESTINY. 


1G3 


less  ?    The  answer  to  this  question  carries  with  it  all  the 
discussions  about  hell. 


PUNISHMENT   FALLS    ON   PERSONS. 

The  thing  which  our  text  suggests  is  that  rewards  and 
punishments  in  the  future  life  come  upon  persons.  There 
are  those  who  endeavor  to  show  that  punishment  falls  on 
sin,  but  not  on  the  sinner.  Such  a  conclusion  results 
from  a  strange  confusion  of  thought.  And  for  the  con- 
clusion and  the  confusion  alike  orthodox  Christians  are 
largely  responsible.  We  constantly  hear  persons  speak 
of  God  as  loving  the  sinner,  but  hating  his  sin.  There 
may  be  a  popular  sense  in  which  this  is  true.  But,  strictly 
speaking,  it  is  impossible,  and  is  misleading.  If  you  think 
of  sin  as  an  act,  you  cannot  punish  it,  except  as  you 
punish  the  actor.  If  you  think  of  sin  as  a  state  of  heart 
out  of  which  the  bad  act  comes,  you  can  punisli  it  only 
by  punishing  the  possessor  of  that  heart.  How  can  you 
punish  the  burglary  except  as  you  punish  burglars  ?  The 
law  which  could  in  this  case  punish  the  sin  and  let  the 
sinner  escape  would  be  wonderfully  popular  with  burg- 
lars. To  talk  of  punishing  sin  and  not  punishing  the 
sinner  is  to  talk  absolute  nonsense. 

The  words  of  Christ  are  in  this  case  in  harmony  with 
the  necessary  conclusions  of  our  reason.  He  teaches  us 
that  in  the  fut.  re  life  men  are  divided  into  two  classes. 
Personality  still  3xists.  It  cannot  be  destroyed.  A  wall 
high  as  heaven  and  deep  as  hell,  separates  man  from  man 
in  the  deepest  solemnities  of  life,  and  in  the  destiny  of 
eternity.  "  These  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punish- 
ment; but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal."  We  must 
stand  at  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ.  Each  man  for 
himself  must  give  account  for  the  deeds  done  in  the  body, 
according  to  that  which  he  hath  done,  whether  good  or 


■f 


H  ■  -i 


164 


CHUIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


J   f 


bad.  "When  a  soul  begins  the  journey  of  life,  it,  as  a 
separate  soul,  starts  on  an  endless  journey.  Its  life  is 
deathless.  Every  child  is  born  for  the  eternities.  Men 
and  women,  you  and  I  must  stand  before  the  great 
wliite  throne.  We  must  see,  amid  His  dazzling  glories 
and  supernal  splendors.  Him  whom  we  have  pierced. 
Every  eye  shall  see  Ilim.  How  shall  we  bear  the  sight  ? 
If  in  the  Judge  we  can  see  also  our  loving  Saviour,  look- 
ing forward  to  that  day,  we  can  say  :  **  Even  so,  come, 
Lord  Jesus." 


M 


t  'i 


«       ii 
J       if 


liT, 


•i        lil..- 
lllii 


I    I 


l! 


it! 


THE   BIBLE   THE   ONLY  AUTHORriT. 

It  is  clear  that  as  to  the  place,  the  nature  and  the  du- 
ration of  future  punishment,  the  Bible  must  be  our  au- 
thority. I  assume  that  it  is  true.  So  do  the  opponents 
of  eternal  punishment.  We  have,  then,  common  standing 
ground.  We,  as  a  denommation,  demand  a  "  Thus  saith 
the  Lord,"  for  this,  as  for  all  other  articles  of  our  faith. 
No  man  can  decide  on  any  general  principle  how  long 
or  how  much  the  wicked  ought  to  suffer.  Such  ques- 
tions are  too  high  for  us  ;  we  cannot  scale  their  heights. 
They  are  too  deep  ;  we  cannot  sound  their  depths.  God 
is  infinitely  wise  and  good.  What  this  wise  and  good 
Being  may  see  fit  to  determine  no  mortal  can  decide. 
These  questions  lie  outside  the  range  of  human  reason. 
We  do  not  know,  to  the  fuili,  how  heinous  sin  is,  as 
committed  against  the  infinitely  best  Being  in  the  uni- 
verse. We  know  not  how  far-reaching  it  is  in  its  conse- 
quences. We  do  know  that  no  sin  is  self-contained.  Its 
evil  influences  stretch  out  in  ever-widening  ranges  as  do 
the  circles  made  by  the  pebble  dropped  into  the  quiet 
lake.  The  sins  you  have  this  day  committed  may  affect 
generations  yet  unborn.  The  very  air,  tainted  with  the 
breath  of  profanity,  will  be  a  witness  against  the  swearer. 


CHARACTKR    AXD    DESTINY. 


165 


That  oath  generated  an  atmospheric  wave  which  has  im- 
pinged against  the  eternal  throne.  It  is  treasured  np 
against  the  day  of  wrath.  It  has  been  said  that,  "  The 
lifting  of  a  hand  sends  a  vibration  to  the  stars."  A 
young  man,  when  dying,  exclaimed  in  agony,  "  Oh 
gather  up  my  influence  and  let  it  be  buried  with  me  !" 
The  wish  was  vain.  As  well  might  one  call  to  the  winds 
to  obey  his  voice.  But  God  knows  what  sin  is  in  all  its 
consequences.  "  He  is  too  good  to  be  unkind  ;  He  is 
too  wise  to  err.''  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony  ;  let 
God  bo  true,  though  every  man  be  a  liar.  We  have 
simply  to  learn  what  God  says,  and  then  humbly  accept 
His  authority. 

DESCRIPTIVE    TERMS. 


lonse- 
Its 

las  do 
quiet 
affect 

Ih  the 
jarer. 


The  place  of  punishment  is  called  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, in  general  terms.  Hades  and  Gehenna,  It  is  further 
described  in  Luke  16  :  28,  asa  "  place  of  torment ;"  when 
the  condition  of  suffering  is  in  mind,  it  is  called  "  wrath 
of  God"  and  **  second  death  ;''  it  is  "  everlasting  lire, 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  It  is  "  hell  fire," 
*' where  their  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not 
quenched"  (Mark  9  :  44)  ;  **  the  lake  which  burneth  with 
fire  and  brimstone"  (Rev.  21  :  8)  ;  '*  bottomless  pit" 
(Rev.  9:2);  *'  outer  darkness  :  there  shall  be  weeping 
and  gnashing  of  teeth"  (Matt.  8  :  12)  ;  '^  furnace  of  fire" 
(Matt.  13:42);  "unquenchable  fire"  (Luke  3:17); 
''  I  am  tormented  in  this  flame"  (Luke  16  :  24)  ;  **  black- 
ness of  darkness"  (Jude  13)  ;  "  tormented  with  fire  and 
brimstone"  (Rev.  14  :  10)  ;  '*  The  smoke  of  their  tor- 
ment ascended  up  forever  and  ever  :  and  they  have  no  rest 
day  nor  night"  (Rev.  14  :  11). 

We  are  thus  taught  that  the  wicked  are  to  be  banished 
from  the  presence  of  God  and  all  good  ;  that  they  will 


y\^ 


1G6 


CHRIST,    ANIJ   IIIM    CRUCK-IED. 


»: 


it 


[, 


I  ;  I 
'  I 

i'l  i 

II  ■ 

iii 


' .  ( 


U 


I 

J 

lil  I 

if 


ffl  111 


<  i 


be  under  the  dominion  of  unrestrained  evil  ;  that  con- 
science will  eternally  reproach,  an^  remorse  forever  gnaw  ; 
that  they  will  suffer  the  natural  consequences  of  sin,  and 
in  addition  the  penal  inflictions  of  a  righteous  God. 
From  all  we  know  of  the  continuity  of  law  and  the  per- 
manence of  character,  it  is  likely  that  they  will  grow  worse 
as  the  ages  pass.  Are  they  in  literal  flames  and  chains  ? 
They  are  in  that  which  can  best  be  described  by  such 
language.  Christ  is  the  Truth.  Ho  cannot  misrepresent ; 
whether  the  account  which  we  have  of  Lazarus  and  the 
rich  man  be  a  history  or  a  parable,  it  is  true.  A  parable 
has  its  drapery,  but  the  drapery  must  convey  the  truth. 
If  other  language  than  that  which  is  used  of  the  misery 
of  the  lost  would  express  the  trutli,  other  language  would 
have  been  used.  Christ  cannot  deceive.  Christ  would 
not  needlessly  alarm.  We  may  assert,  with  Dr.  Hodge, 
that  it  cannot  be  literal  fire,  inasmuch  as  the  devil  and 
his  angels  have  no  material  bodies  to  be  acted  on  by  ele- 
mental fire.  What  then  ?  Nothing  is  gained.  The  con- 
dition is  such  that  it  can  be  best  described  by  the  terrible 
images  which  the  loving  Lord  invariably  uses.  Oh,  the 
agonies  of  a  lost  soul  I  Christ  knew  its  worth.  He 
knew  its  awful  loss.  On  the  wings  of  mercy  He  flew  to 
its  relief.  He  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was 
lost. 

ARE   THESE    SUFFERINGS     ENDLESS  ? 

The  doctrine  held  by  the  great  body  of  Christians  in 
the  various  branches  of  the  Church,  in  all  ages,  is  that 
the  conscious  existence  of  the  soul  is  unending  ;  that 
those  who  die  alienated  from  God  must  ao  remain  for- 
ever ;  that  repentance  is  impossible,  and  that  the  misery 
of  the  impenitent  is  endless. 


CHARACTER   AND   DESTINY. 


107 


jery 


IF   NOT,  WHAT   SHALL   WE    SUBSTITUTE  ? 

If  this  doctrine  be  not  true,  in  what  way  shall  we  dis- 
pose of  the  soul  ?  Yarious  opinions  have  been  held.  It 
is  not  our  purpose  either  to  state  or  to  discuss  these  at 
length.  Is  the  soul  annihilated  ?  So  some  have  affirmed. 
Gross  materialists  make  thought  a  secretion  of  the  brain. 
It  is  the  brain  in  motion.  They  know  no  soul.  Man  is 
an  animal.  He  is  a  vegetable.  He  is  what  he  eats. 
Carlyle  calls  this  **  the  gospel  of  dirt."  Its  "god  is  its 
belly."  It  is  abominable.  It  degrades  a  minister  to  re- 
fute it.  Its  refutation  is  an  insult  to  you.  Are  j^ou  no 
better  than  animals  ?  Others  assert  that  no  man  has  a 
soul  until  he  is  converted.  What,  then,  may  we  ask,  is 
converted  ?  The  life  Christ  gives  the  righteous  is  im- 
mortality ;  the  death  of  the  wicked  is  extinction  of  life, 
it  is  said.  The  second  death  maybe  protracted  and  pain- 
ful, but  it  will  come,  say  the  advocates  of  this  doctrine. 
Annihilation  is  the  vain  hope  of  men  consciously  wicked, 
and,  therefore,  fearful.  It  is  weak  and  cowardly.  I  un- 
hesitatingly affirm  that  no  satisfactory  evidence  in  its 
support  can  be  found  in  the  Bible.  The  Bible,  legiti- 
mately interpreted,  conveys  the  opposite  meaning.  I 
cannot  pause  long  on  this.  Any  man  who  will  affirm 
that  the  words  *'  life"  and  *'  death'*  in  the  Bible  are  to 
be  used  in  the  limited  and  degraded  sense  in  which  An- 
nihilationists  use,  them,  advertises  his  utter  inability  to 
interpret  any  document.  Can  God  annihilate  a  soul  ? 
The  question  is  asked  with  all  reverence.  Ho  has  de- 
graded, but  He  has  not  annihilated  Satan.  The  immor- 
tal in  Satan  and  man  is  a  spark  of  the  divine  flame. 
Can  God  annihilate  Himself  ?  A  belief  in  this  doctrine 
unspeakably  degrades  the  whole  scheme  of  redemption. 

Did  God  give  His  only  begotten  Son  to  the  shame  and 


%^. 


f!^ 


168 


CITUIST,    AND    TIIM    CRLTIFIKD. 


agony  of  tho  cross  merely  to  save  men  from  annihilation  ? 
Was  this  tho  purpose  of  Clirist's  wondrous  birth,  glori- 
ous life,  atoning  death,  victorious  resurrection,  and  tri- 
umphant ascension  ?  If  annihilation  was  the  **  end-all" 
of  the  wicked,  tho  cross  of  Calvary  was  a  stupendous 
1)1  under.  To  say  that  annihilation  is  the  eternal  punish- 
ment of  the  wicked  is  nonsense.  Can  you  punish  those 
who  have  ceased  to  be  ?  Can  you  punish  a  nonentity  ? 
As  well  might  you  talk  of  punishing  those  who  were  not 
born.  Oh,  men  and  women,  you  are  immortal  !  In- 
trenched within  its  own  immortality  the  soul  defies  death. 
It  smiles  at  the  dagger.  It  cannot  die.  Where  will  you 
spend  eternity  ?  What  will  you  do  with  that  immortal 
and  priceless  treasure  ?  Christ  came  to  seek  and  to  save 
you,  not  from  annihilation,  but  from  sin  and  hell,  and 
to  purity  here  and  eternal  bliss  hereafter.  Commit  your 
souls  to  Him. 

Does  a  second  j^rohation  help  the  matter  ?  Some  have 
assumed  that  punishment  is  reformatory  ;  that  when  it 
accomplishes  its  end  it  will  cease,  and  that  all  sinners, 
men  and  angels,  shall  yet  be  restored  to  the  favor  of 
God.  Oiigen  taught  this.  This  assumption  contains 
many  errors.  It  assumes  that  men  who  have  despised 
one  probation  would  improve  a  second.  What  right  has 
any  man  to  think  he  would  do  so  ?  What  inducements 
to  repent  could  God  offer  men  then  which  He  does  not 
offer  now  ?  The  Atonement  of  Christ  and  the  sanctify- 
ing power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  the  means  of  salvation. 
These  are  never  offered  in  hell.  A  man's  salvation  is 
less  likely  then  than  now.  Is  it  hard  to  be  a  Christian 
now  ?  Now  you  have  Christ  with  extended  arms  and 
loving  heart.  You  have  an  open  Bible.  You  have  a 
preached  Gospel.  You  have  prayer-meetings  and  Sab- 
baths.    You  have  praying  parents  and  friends.     Will  it 


CHARACTER   AND   DESTINY. 


169 


not 

fy- 

lOU. 

I  is 
ian 
and 

■vo  a 
ab- 

II  it 


be  easier  to  repent  in  hell  ?  There  yon  will  be  banished 
from  God — under  His  curee,  in  unspeakable  torments, 
without  grace,  without  hope,  and  with  lost  men  and 
devils  for  your  companions.  A  second  probation  !  Why 
not  a  third  ?  Repentance,  salvation  in  hell  !  Is  hell  more 
potent  to  subdue  a  proud  heart  than  the  cross  of  Cal- 
vary ?  If  so,  again  1  say,  that  the  cross  is  a  stupendous 
blunder.  I  speak  to  those  who  trample  over  a  mother's 
prayers,  who  pass  by  the  bleeding  love  of  Jesus  as  an 
unholy  thing,  and  press  their  way  to  perdition.  What 
can  God  do  for  you  there  ?  God  has  already  exliausted 
Himself  !  What  more  can  He  do  than  He  has  done  to 
save  you  ?  1  am  not  debating  a  controverted  point.  I 
am  striving  to  win  your  soul.  Lord  Jesus,  have  mercy 
on  these  despisers  of  Thy  love  I 

Another  falbo  assumption  on  this  point  is  that  pimish- 
ment  is  reformatory.  Is  this  so  ?  Is  this  its  natural 
effect  'i  Are  there  not  thousands  of  men  in  prison  who 
are  hardened  tenfold  by  their  punishment  ?  Even  while 
the  law  has  its  firm  grip  upon  them,  they  are  plotting 
deeper  wickedness.  Suffering,  per  se,  has  no  purifying 
power.  Penalties  cannot  cleanse  the  heart.  They  may 
satisfy  human  law  for  past  crimes,  but  cannot  insure 
against  future  sins.  God  does  not  always  inflict  punish- 
ment with  the  design  of  reforming  men.  The  desti'uc- 
tion  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  can  scarcely  be  called  a  re- 
form measure.  Their  cup  of  wrath  was  full.  God  held 
it  with  outstretched  arm  over  the  doomed  cities.  Ilis 
servant  ceased  praying.  The  cup  was  pr>ured  out.  The 
terrible  monument  of  God's  wrath  was  all  that  remained 
of  the  once  great  city  in  the  beautiful  vale  of  Siddim. 

The  death  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  was  rather  more 
than  a  reform  measure.  In  these  cases  God  has  per- 
mitted us  to  get  a  glimpse  of  His  workings.     Could  we 


li. 


1; 


)    - 


iro 


CIiniST,    AND    HIM    ('UUriFIRD. 


(        im  iv. 


■iH  il! 

\.\  t 


Bco  His  '*  ways"  as  j>lainly  in  otlior  eases,  no  doubt  tlio 
liistory  of  the  race  "would  sliow  tens  of  thousands  of  just 
Bucli  reform  measures.  IIuw  terrible  must  be  the  in- 
gratitude, and  how  awful  the  blindness  of  men  who  arc 
despising  the  means  of  grace  to-day,  and  are  looking  for- 
"ward  to  perdition  as  a  school  of  reform  !  Satan  has  suf- 
fered long.     Has  he  reformed  ? 

But  the  Word  of  God  refutes  this  hope.  When  Paul 
says,  Rom.  5  :  18,  ''  That  as  by  the  offence  of  one,  judg- 
ment came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation,  so  by  the 
righteousness  of  One  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men 
unto  justification  of  life  ;"  or  "^  as  in  Adam  all  die," 
etc.,  the  '*all"  is  limited  by  the  context.  Where  it  is 
said  that  He  will  have  all  to  be  saved,  it  teaches  not  His 
purpose  to  save  all,  but  rather  that  He  d  "ghts  not  in 
the  death  of  any.  All  the  positive  evidence  which  we 
shall  shortly  use  to  establish  the  truth  of  the  text,  con- 
futes the  belief  in  a  second  probation  or  a  restoration. 

But  grant  that  this  view  were  true.  Why  should  men 
go  to  heaven  by  way  of  hell  ?  Why  spend  an  age  in 
the  flames  of  woe,  or  even  a  day,  or  an  hour  ;  why  go  at 
all  to  the  chambers  of  perdition,  when  God  has  opened 
a  way  by  the  cross  ?  I  put  it  to  you  now.  Am  I  not 
right  ?  God  invites  you.  Jesus  waits  to  welcome  you 
to-night.  Soon  your  doom  will  be  sealed.  The  eternal 
allotment  will  be  made.  The  *'  great  gulf"  will  be 
fixed  ;  and  he  that  is  unjust  and  filthy  will  be  unjust  and 
filthy  still. 

Come,  then,  to  Jesus  now.  He  graciously  invites  ; 
He  patiently  waits.  Flee  now  to  the  cross,  to  the  feet, 
to  the  heart  of  Jesus  Christ  and  be  saved  with  an  ever- 
lasting salvation.  God  grant  it,  for  His  name's  sake. 
Amen. 


iijiti 


»> 


s 


XIV. 
FUTURE   PTTNISIIMENT— WHAT  ? 

"  And  these  shall  go  away  into  everluHting  punishment ;  but  the 
righteous  into  life  eternal." — Matt.  25  :  46. 

Onok  more  we  approach  this  deeply  solemn  subject. 
Only  as  our  spirit  is  tender  and  prayerful,  teachable  and 
submissive,  are  we  prepared  to  discuss  a  subject  involv- 
mg  such  tremendous  issues.  It  is  fitting  now  that  we 
ask  and  strive  to  answer  some  solemn  (questions. 

IS   FUTURE   PUNISHMENT   CONTRARY   TO   DIVINE    LOVE? 

If  it  be  found  that  the  Bible  teaches  the  endlessness  of 
punishment,  we  need  not  hesitate  to  accep*^  the  doctrine 
lest  it  conflict  with  the  justice  of  God.  The  human 
mind  is  not  able  to  deal  with  all  the  elements  of  the 
problem.  "We  know  that  punishment  should  be  propor- 
tioned to  guilt.  It  is  then  asked  whether  any  man's 
sins  in  this  short  life  are  worthy  of  eternal  punishment. 
But  the  length  of  a  man's  punishment  is  not  determined 
by  the  length  of  time  it  took  him  to  commit  the  crime. 
It  often  takes  longer  to  commit  a  burglary  than  a  murder. 
Would  a  lawyer  urge  as  a  reason  for  a  light  punishment 
that  his  client,  charged  with  murder,  took  only  thirty  sec- 
onds to  commit  the  crime  ?  We  judge  by  the  nature  of 
the  crime,  not  by  the  time  taken  to  commit  it.  So  long 
as  men  aro  sinful,  they  must  be  miserable.  This  law  is 
universal  as  gravitation  ;  it  is  eternal  as  God.  We  know 
not  what  punishment  ib  due  to  a  man  who  sins  against 
God  and  His  Anointed. 


1 

1 


i 


»  r 


iil^ 


^i 


-in 


CUKIflT,    AND    IIIM    CKl'Ciri  KD. 


Neitlicr  is  God's  goodness  impugned  by  this  doctrine. 
If  sin  and  misery  arc  here  conpiHtent  with  God's  good- 
ness, may  tliey  not  he  heyond  ?  If  oven  the  good  suffer 
here,  may  not  tlie  had  suffer  tlicro  ?  We  must  not  for- 
get that  God  is  just  as  well  iis  henevolent.  The  penalty 
He  imposes  on  sin  is  the  true  measure  of  its  deserts. 
Tliere  can  he  no  conflict  between  the  elements  of  Ilis  in- 
finite perfections.  Even  God's  goodness  in  its  broad 
application  to  His  creation,  unites  with  His  justice  in 
demanding  the  punishment  of  the  ungodly.  But  this 
terrible  fact  must  ever  be  put  alongside  of  the  provisions 
of  God's  grace.  He  has  provided  a  way  of  escape.  He 
Bcnds  none  to  perdition.  Men  choose  death  rather  than 
life.  As  one  of  the  Puritan  fathers  said,  in  substance, 
*'  Over  every  mansion  in  glory  will  be  written,  *  Free 
Grace,'  and  over  every  prison-house  of  woe,  the  con- 
sciences of  the  lost  will  compel  them  to  write,  *  De- 
served. ' ' '  Indeed,  God's  goodness  would  be  incomplete 
were  it  not  associated  witli  a  righteous  indignation 
against  all  wrong.  Lacking  this,  God  would  not  be  God. 
Every  developed  moral  nature  has  this  element.  We  re- 
member Bushnell's  remark  when  speaking  of  the  wrath- 
principle  in  God,  *'  Take  it  away  from  God  and  He  is 
simply  Brahma — a  mere  Fate,  or  Infinite  thing,  no  Gov- 
ernor of  the  world,  but  an  ideal  in  the  neuter  gender  of 
the  True  and  the  Good  ;  a  Beauty  that  lies  in  sweet  las- 
situde on  the  world  for  literary  souls  to  make  a  religion 
of  for  themselves.  Take  it  away  from  man  and  he  is 
only  paste,  or,  at  best,  an  animal."  This  element  gives 
majesty  to  God's  character. 

If  His  righteous  indignation  did  not  flash  out  and  burn 
against  wrong,  we  could  neither  love  nor  respect  him. 
Ours  does.  We  cannot  see  a  little  boy  hurt  by  a  big 
one  without  feeling  it.    Kever  did  man  love  as  did  Christ. 


FUTURE .  PUN  lOHMENT— WHAT  ? 


1:3 


Never  did  man  dononnco  wrong  as  did  Christ.  Ills 
wrath  flashed  out  at  wronj^.  IIo  spoke  terrible  words. 
Ho  baptized  tlieiii  in  tears  of  tenderest  h)ve,  but  the  tears 
did  not  extinguiwli  the  fires  of  His  indignation.  Kead 
Christ's  b'fe  with  that  thought  in  mind.  All  pure  and 
noble  souls  have  this  lofty  and  holy  indignation.  Chribt 
was  as  terrible  a  preacher  as  He  was  a  tender  preacher. 
Ho  was  and  is  King.  Men  must  submit.  They  must 
beware  how  they  treasure  up  wrath  against  the  day  of 
wrath.  Oh,  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb  I  What  incongruous 
rhetoric  this  is  !  An  angry  lamb  !  The  Lamb  of  God, 
not  the  Lion  of  Judah,  angry  I  Behold  the  goodness, 
ay,  and  the  severity  of  God  I 

But  let  us  not  forget  that  society  does  constantly  what 
we  may  find  that  the  Scriptures  say  God  does.  Dr. 
Parker,  in  his  chapter  on  Eternal  Punishments  in  "  Ecce 
Deus,''  gives  some  suggestive  hints  on  this  point.  So- 
ciety must  draw  a  broad  line  of  demarcation  between  the 
good  and  the  bad.  Certain  persons  it  admits  ;  others  it 
excludes.  Some  men  it  never  forgives,  never  owns  so 
long  as  they  live.  Often  it  follows  them  with  its  wrath 
after  they  are  dead.  It  dare  not  honor  their  memory. 
This  is,  so  far  as  it  is  possible  for  society  to  go,  eternal 
punishment.  The  very  constitution  of  society  necessi- 
tates this.  Even  though  a  man  may  repent  and  reform, 
society  must  still  in  some  cases  condemn  him.  Society 
does  this  in  obedience  to  its  deepest  moral  instincts,  why 
should  we  be  startled  if  we  find  that  God  does  the  same 
thing  ?  If  we  find  it  necessary  to  condemn  men  eter- 
nally, so  far  as  our  conditions  admit,  may  not  God's  in- 
stincts and  the  exigencies  of  His  government  require  the 
same  thing  ?  If  we  are  not  shocked  at  our  own  course, 
why  need  we  be  at  God's  ? 


I^wwiu         I      I  I   i«iiini»»/«|iq| 


I   '.': 


i 


■:i\\ 


M 


174 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


A    STRONG    PRESUMPTION. 


Dr.  Hodge  calls  Special  attention  to  the  fact  that  nearly 
all  Christian  chnrches  have  understood  the  Bible  to  teach 
the  doctrine  of  the  unending  punishment  of  the  finally 
impenitent.  This  unanimity  of  belief  cannot  be  referred 
to  any  philosophical  speculation.  ISieither,  as  he  argues, 
can  it  be  accounted  for  on  the  ground  that  the  doctrine 
in  question  is  congenial  to  the  human  mind.  It  certainly 
is  not.  It  never  would  be  believed  for  its  own  sake,  if 
not  fully  confirmed.  The  heart  unbroken  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  the  heart  ignorant  of  its  own  guilt,  revolts  and 
rebels  against  it.  Men  have  felt  that  they  must  accept 
the  doctrine  or  reject  the  book.  No  other  explanation 
will  account  for  its  general  reception.  Christ  and  His 
apostles  found  this  doctrine.  It  was  held  by  many — ^by 
the  great  majority  of  the  Jews.  How  did  Jesus  treat  it  ? 
When  did  He  contradict  or  correct  it  ?  He  corrected 
many  errors.  If  this  was  one,  might  we  not  expect  Him 
to  correct  it  ?  On  the  contrary,  His  teacliing  tended  to 
confirm  it.  Would  He  confirm  His  hearers  in  an  cr^or 
of  such  moment  ?  Who  will  dare  say  so  ?  Is  there 
not  an  argument  in  this  negative  testimony  ? 

POSITIVE  EVIDENCE. 

Christ  and  His  apostles  taught  moet  emphatically  and 
solemnly  the  eternal  punishment  of  the  finally  impenitent. 
To  leave  no  room  for  doubt,  the  doctrine  is  taught  both 
affirmatively  and  negatively  ;  and,  lest  some  might  ques- 
tion the  meaning  of  a  word,  many  forms  of  expression 
are  used  to  express  the  truth.  If  it  can  ever  be  taught, 
it  is  taught  in  the  Bible.  It  is  taught  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. In  Isaiah  33  :  14  the  question  is  asked,  '*  Who 
among  us  shall  dwell  with  the  devouring  fire  ?    Who 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT— V  HAT? 


175 


among  us  sliall  dwell  with  everlasting  burnings  ?"  In 
Dan.  12  :  2,  we  read,  **  And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in 
the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting 
life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt."  In 
the  New  Testament  the  language  is  still  clearer.  Christ 
came  to  bring  life  and  immortality  to  light  in  the  Gos- 
pel. He  came  also  to  bring  darkness  and  death  to  light. 
Both  classes  of  truths  were  known  before  ;  but  on  both 
lie  shed  a  fuller  light.  Indeed,  Christ  uncovered  the  pit. 
"We  had  scarcely  known  it  but  for  Him.  It  is  now  said 
as  a  reproach  to  some  men  that  they  are  *'  hell-fire 
preachers."  Christ  was  the  first  and  the  greatest  preach- 
er of  this  class  the  world  has  ever  known.  No  such 
*'  woes"  ever  fell  from  human  lips  as  fell  from  His. 
His  terrific  denunciations,  warnings,  and  rebukes  are 
scathing  and  scorching  even  now.  But  His  awful  au- 
thority was  evermore  blended  with  a  tearful  tenderness. 
There  is  quite  as  much  love  in  His  threaten ings  as  in 
His  invitations.  When  there  lias  been  a  great  railroad 
accident  in  the  night,  a  bridge  having  fallen  and  tli.,  lives 
of  thousands  imperilled,  men  are  sent  up  and  down  the 
track  with  colored  lanterns  to  warn  approaching  trains 
of  their  danger  ;  they  are  simply  revealing  it.  They 
are  ministers  of  love.  When  our  streets  are  undergoing 
repaira,  lights  are  hung  around  the  openings  made. 
These  are  signals  of  danger.  They  are  erected  in  love. 
Parents  are  loving,  when  they  say,  *'  My  child,  there  is 
danger  there.  Go  not  near.  Avoid  that  place.  Pass 
not  near  it."  So  Christ  did  not,  in  a  very  true  sense, 
create  hell  ;  He  revealed  it.  It  existed  before  He  came. 
It  would  have  existed  had  He  never  come.  He  revealed 
it.  He  warned  us  against  it.  He  provided  a  way  of 
escape  from  it.  In  all  honesty  and  love,  and  with  a 
tremendous  earnestness,  He  warned  us  of  our  great"  dan- 


M 

K     1    i 


i    it 


'    i 


?(¥     ■! 


U  M 

If        fe 

I"    S  '5 


i!i: 


176 


CUKI8T,    AMJ   lilM   CKUCIFIKD. 


ger.  It  was  with  such  feelings  He  said,  "  Then  shall 
He  say  also  unto  them  on  the  left  hand,  Depart  from 
Me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  lire,  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  his  angels"  (Matt.  25  :  41).  "  And  these  shall  go 
away  into  everlasting  punishment  :  but  the  righteous 
into  life  eternal"  (Matt.  25  :  46).  In  Mark  9  :  43,  44, 
Christ  says  :  *'  It  is  better  for  thee  to  enter  into  life 
maimed,  than  having  two  h?nds  to  go  into  hell,  into  the 
fire  that  never  shall  be  quenched  :  Where  their  worm 
dietli  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched."  Attention  has 
been  called  to  the  fact  that  these  awful  words  are  uttered 
three  times  by  our  loving  Lord  in  a  single  d]f-:v;ourse,  as 
recorded  in  this  chapter.  In  Matt.  8  :  12,  ve  read, 
*'  But  the  children  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  cast  ouc  into 
outer  darkness  :  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth."  In  Matt.  13  :  42,  we  have  the  expression, 
^'  And  shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of  fire  :  there  shall 
be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth."  Luke  16  :  24,  *'  I 
am  tormented  in  this  flame,"  expresses  the  misery  of 
the  lost.  In  John  3  :  36,  we  have,  ''  He  that  belie veth 
on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life  :  and  he  that  believeth 
not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God 
abideth  on  him."  Paul  teaclies  us,  2  Tliess.  1  :  9, 
that  there  are  those  *'  Who  shall  be  punished  with  ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and 
from  the  glory  of  His  power."  In  Judo,  sixth  verse, 
wo  read  of  the  angels  which  kept  not  their  first  estate, 
that  tliey  are  "  reserved  in  everlasting  chains  under  dark- 
tiom  unto  tjj<»  judgment  of  the  great  day."  In  Rev.  14  : 
10,  11,  '*  The Hume  shall  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of 
God,  whi<'|j  is  ])otired  out  without  mixture  into  the  cup  of 
His  inJlgnatio/i  ;  and  he  shall  be  tormented  with  fire  and 
brimstone  in  the  presence  of  the  holy  angels  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  Lamb.     And  the  smoke  of  their  torment 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT — WHAT? 


177 


ascendeth  up  forever  and  ever,  and  they  have  no  r^st  day 
nor  night." 

IT   IS    ASSUMED   ALSO. 

It  is  said  of  Judas  that  it  had  been  better  for  him  had 
he  never  been  born.  This  implies  that  his  punishment 
would  be  eternal.  For  if  there  should  come  a  time, 
even  after  ages  of  suffering,  when  he  should  be  admitted 
to  the  unspeakable  and  endless  bliss  of  heaven,  then  ex- 
istence would  be  a  blessing.  The  blessings  of  that 
heaven  would  infinitely  overbalance  the  misenes  of  hell 
for  a  limited  time.  Of  one  wicked  man,  at  least,  we 
know  that  his  sufferings  are  endless  ;  if  of  one,  why  not 
of  all  wicked  men  ?  Of  one  class  of  sins  it  is  positively 
affirmed  that  there  is  no  forgiveness,  either  in  this  world, 
or  in  that  which  is  to  come.  That  does  not  imply  that 
in  the  world  to  come  there  is  forgiveness  for  any  sins. 
It  is  a  strong  expression  to  assure  us  that  there  is  no 
forgiveness  anywhere  for  the  sin  in  question.  So  also  is 
the  account  of  Lazarus  and  the  rich  man.  That  parable 
or  history  proves  that  there  is  a  place  of  torment,  a  hell  ; 
that  men  consciously  endure  indescribable  sufferings,  that 
these  sufferings  cannot  be  alleviated,  and  that  no  further 
warnings  will  be  given  than  are  given  by  Moses  and  the 
prophets.  These  truths,  and  others  also,  are  clearly 
taught. 

It  is  claimed,  however,  that  the  word  '*  everlasting'* 
is  sometimes  used  of  limited  duration.  We  grant  it. 
But  when  it  is  applied  to  a  limited  duration,  it  is  still  a 
duration  whose  termination  is  unknown.  It  is,  there- 
fore, practically  a  limitless  duration,  even  when  applied 
to  material  things,  as  "everlasting  hills."  When  ap- 
plied to  immaterial  things,  its  meaning  must  accord  with 
the  nature  of  the  things  to  which  it  is  applic.d.     When 


II:: 


178 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


if:  1 1 


we  have  no  authority,  either  in  the  nature  of  things  or 
from  any  other  source,  to  hmit  its  meaning,  it  is  to  be 
taken  in  its  full  literal  sense.  Dr.  G.  W.  Clark,  in  his 
commentary  on  our  text,  tells  us  that  the  word  aionios, 
translated  in  one  clause  of  the  text,  everlasting,  and  in 
the  other,  eternal,  is  used  in  the  I^ew  Testament  seventy- 
one  times.  Three  times  it  refers  to  the  long  indefinite 
past.  (Rom.  16  :  25  ;  2  Tim.  1  :  9,  where  the  phrase 
is  translated  **  before  the  world  began,"  and  Titus  1  :  2.) 
Twice  it  is  applied  to  complete  eternity  without  begin- 
ning or  end,  once  of  God,  once  of  the  Spirit  which  was 
in  Christ,  and  fifty-one  times  to  the  future  happiness  of 
the  righteous.  Seven  times  it  is  used  to  describe  the 
future  misery  of  the  wicked,  and  in  the  remaining  cases 
it  involves  the  idea  of  an  unending  future. 

But  the  Bible  is  not  confined  to  this  word.  Lest  some 
might  claim  that  it  is  ambiguous,  Christ  gives  us  many 
instances  of  such  language  as  we  have  before  quoted, 
fire  that  is  unquenchable,  worm  that  never  dies,  fire  that 
ascendeth  forever  and  ever,  and  many  other  phrases  of 
like  import.  The  Greek  language,  with  all  its  marvel- 
lous exactness  and  facility  of  expressing  shades  of  mean- 
ing, possesses  no  more  emphatic  words  to  express  the 
idea  of  endless  duration  than  the  words  which  are  em- 
ployed to  describe  the  punishment  of  the  wicked.  If 
Christ  ever  meant  to  teach  this  doctrine.  He  uses  in  the 
text,  and  elsewhere,  the  very  words  to  express  it.  If 
these  words  do  not  teach  it,  it  cannot  be  taught.  Grant, 
for  the  moment,  that  Christ  intended  to  teach  it ;  He 
knew  the  language  He  used  ;  He  was  familiar  with  all 
its  shades  of  meaning.  Suppose  that  you  wished  to  teach 
it,  and  vere  equally  familiar  with  the  language,  1  assert 
that  you  would  use  precisely  the  language  which  Chr^t 
has  used.     Christ  knew  well,  when  He  uttered  the  text, 


^  % 


FUTURE    PUNISHMENT— WHAT? 


179 


he 
m- 
If 
he 

If 
nt, 
He 

all 
lach 

ert 


that  the  great  majority  of  men  would  understand  Him 
to  teach  this  doctrine.  If  He  did  not  mean  to  teach  it, 
He  has  knowingly  led  thousands  into  grievous  error. 
Tin's  we  cannot  believe  of  the  great  Teacher.  He  would 
not  produce  unnecessary  fear  and  terror.  He  would  not 
mislead.  The  word  used  in  the  text  to  describe  the  per- 
petuity of  the  misery  of  the  wicked  is  in  the  original 
precisely  the  same  as  that  which  expresses  the  unending 
happiness  o^  the  righteous.  If  one  is  limited  in  dura- 
tion, so  must  the  other  be  limited.  The  proof  that  the 
righteous  will  be  forever  happy  rests  on  precisely"  the 
same  ground  as  that  the  wicked  will  be  forever  miser- 
able. Close  hill  and  you  must  close  heaven  also.  The 
logic  that  ends  either  ends  both.  Are  wo  prepared  for 
this  conclusion  ? 

I  affirm  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  Scriptures  which 
even  remotely  suggests — far  less  declares — that  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  lost  shall  ever  have  an  end.  All  our  rea- 
soning of  the  permanence  of  character  and  the  increasing 
ratio  of  evil  is  along  the  same  line  and  leads  to  the  same 
conclusion.  Before  these  plain  and  solemn  truths  of 
God's  immutable  Word  we  bow  in  submission  and  awe, 
saying,  *'  Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  Thy 
sight."- 

TO    CONCLUDE. 

On  this  w^hole  subject  I  would  say,  first,  God  sends  no 
man  to  perdition.  Mr.  Beeclier,  in  his  recent  sermon, 
put  up  a  man  of  straw.  He  attacked  him  vigorously  ; 
he  trampled  on  him  triumphantly.  But  after  all,  he 
was  only  a  man  of  straw.  We  know  no  such  conception 
of  God  as  that  preacher  ascribed  to  the  orthodox.  His 
severe  asseverations  were  needless,  not  to  say  more. 
The  Bible  nowhere  represents  God  as  sending  men  to 


Ill 


lip 

5  ri 


180 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


f;  i 


I! 


t 
I 

!' 


1 1 


i'|i;i 
:i!!i! 


■llli 


hell.  We  know  no  orthodox  preacher  who  so  presents 
God.  God  offers  life  ;  men  choose  death  !  God  cannot 
put  men  by  physical  force  into  heaven.  It  would  not 
be  heaven  to  men  entering  it  in  that  way.  If  all  hell 
were  transferred  to-night  to  heaven,  it  would  still  be 
hell.  The  ruffian  from  the  street,  or  the  vile  saloon, 
would  find  the  sweetest  prayer  meeting  ever  held  a  very 
dull  and  stupid  place.  He  would  long  for  his  revelries  and 
debaucheries.  Such  a  man,  if  taken  to  heaven,  would 
find  it  an  utterly  intolerable  place.  Take  a  savage  into 
your  library  and  drawing-room,  show  him  your  treasures 
of  art  and  your  gems  of  literature  ;  and  the  man  will  be 
inexpressibly  miserable.  He  needs  a  change  of  taste.  He 
needs  conversion.  Do  you  love  Christ  now  ?  Are  His 
presence  and  His  service  irksome  to  you  now  'i  What, 
1  ask,  would  you  do  in  heaven  ?  It  would  be  hell  to 
you.  It  is  merciful  in  God  to  banish  from  His  presence 
those  who  hate  Him.  There  is  no  heaven  anywhere  for 
a  man  who  hates  God.  God  cannot  make  a  heaven  for 
such  a  man.  There  is  no  hell  anywhere  for  a  man  who 
loves  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  devil  aannot  make  a  hell  for 
such  a  man.  If  we  can  imagine  such  a  man's  going  to 
hell,  it  would  cease  to  be  such  to  him,  and  would  be- 
come heaven.  A  man  who  hates  God  has  the  beginnings 
of  hell  in  him  now,  as  Milton's  Satan  says, 

•'  Which  ^ay  I  fly  is  hell  ;  myself  am  hell." 

An  ungodly  man  carries  hell  in  his  heart.  He  cannot 
get  away  from  himself.  God  cannot  help  him  except 
he  comes  to  God's  terms.  This  is  true — every  man  will 
go  where  in  his  deepest  nature  he  desires  to  go.  That 
statement  will  bear  examination.  L)o  you  say  no  man 
desires  to  go  to  hell  ?  I  tell  you  thousands  desire  to  live 
a  life  which  muptend  in  hell.    Look  at  their  lives.    Tlier 


FUTURE    PUXI3HMEXT— WHAT? 


181 


are  in  it,  so  far  as  is  possible,  now.     Look  at  their  haunts. 


Look  at  their  hearts.  They  love  sin.  They  must  reap 
its  fruit.  What  men  sow  they  reap.  They  must  not 
expect  to  sow  the  seeds  of  vice  and  reap  the  fruits  of 
virtue.  Many  a  man  desires  the  honors  of  wealth,  but 
is  not  willing  to  make  the  necessary  sacrifice  to  earn  it. 
Then  he  in  his  deepest  nature  does  not  desire  wealth, 
lie  likes  ease  better.  Many  a  man  would  like  the  fame 
of  learning  ;  he  is  not  willing  to  pay  the  price  in  honest 
work.  Then  he  does  not  desire  learning  so  much  as  ease. 
Friends,  if  you  are  lost  you  will  have  committed  moral 
suicide.  Remorse  will  sting  you  forever.  **  It  might 
have  been,"  will,  indeed,  be  to  you  "  the  saddest  words 
of  tongue  or  pen."  Men  and  women,  be  wise  to-night. 
You  like  sin  now  ;  you  will  mourn  its  fruits  one  day. 
Will  you  be  among  those  who  pray  for  tlie  rocks  utid 
mountains  to  fall  upon  them,  and  to  liide  them  from  the 
face  of  Him  who  sits  upon  the  throne  ?  Tlio  great  day 
of  His  wrath  is  coming  ;  will  you  be  able  to  Btimd  ? 
The  old  colored  woman  was  right.  In  annwer  to  tlio 
flippant  objection  that  thero  was  not  hi  hnstuno  enough 
to  burn  the  wicked,  she  said  to  the  objector,  "  You  tako 
your  brimstone  along  wit]i  you."     It  is  true. 

Let  me  say,  again,  no  man  in  perdition  will  suffer 
more  than  he  has  merited.  The  sufferings  will  be  inde- 
scribably great  ;  but  they  will  be  proportioned  to  men's 
deserts.  Those  who  have  sinned  under  the  law,  will  be 
judged  and  punished  by  the  law.  Those  who  have  sinned 
without  the  law,  shall  be  judged  without  law.  Tliose 
who  knew  their  Master's  will,  and  did  it  not,  shall  be 
beaten  with  many  stripes.  Those  who  knew  it  not  with 
few  stripes.  Punishment  is  not  a  matter  from  the  out- 
side so  much  as  from  the  inside.  You  cannot  punish  an 
innocent  man.    You  cannot  help  punishing  a  guilty  man. 


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183 


CliUIST,    AND   HI-\f   CRUCIFIED. 


All  who  shall  be  lost  know  thoy  are  guilty.  Their 
mouths  will  be  stopped  before  God.  The  heathen  can- 
not be  punished  for  not  believing  in  a  Saviour  of  whom 
they  have  not  heard.  Theirs  is  a  different  standard  ;  by 
that  they  will  be  judged.  According  to  it  their  punish- 
ment will  be.  iBut  how  terrible  will  be  the  guilt  of  those 
who  reject  Christ!  Are  you  doing  it  ?  Hell  was  pre- 
pared for  the  devil  and  his  angels.  If  you  belong  to 
Satan,  you  nmst  dwell  with  his  fjunily. 

Once  more  :  pardon  is  hero  and  now,  on  the  authority 
of  God,  fully  and  freely  offered  to  all.  Do  you  shrink 
from  the  thought  of  God's  inflicting  eternal  punishment 
on  the  ungodly  ?  Are  you  wiser,  are  you  more  loving 
than  God  ?  Compared  with  Ills  Icive  a  mother's  is  *'  as 
moonlight  unto  sunlight,  as  water  unto  wine."  lie  gave 
the  Son  of  His  love  to  save  you.  Would  you  know  your 
soul's  danger  and  worth  ?  Would  you  know  God's  love 
and  mercy  ?  Then  stand  beneath  the  cross  of  Calvary. 
See  the  sun  veiling  Ills  face  in  mourning.  Observe  the 
quaking  earth,  shaking  as  if  its  heart  were  breaking. 
See  God's  Beloved  dying  for  you.  Oh,  matchless  love  ; 
oh,  boundless  pity  ;  how  terrible  is  my  sin  ;  how  mar- 
vellous is  God's  love  !  Hear  the  voice  of  your  God,  as 
He  warns  and  entreats  you  :  "  Why  will  ye  die,  O  house 
of  Israel  ?  For  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  him 
that  dieth,  saith  the  Lord  God  :  wherefore  turn  your- 
selves and  live  ye."  "^  Let  t'le  wicked  forsake  his  way 
,  .  .  and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord,  .  .  .  for  lie 
will  abundaniiy  pardon."  He  urges  us  to  rea?X/n  with 
Ilim,  and  promises  to  make  our  scarlet  sins  white  as  snow, 
and  our  crimson  sins  liko  wool.  He  exhausts  Himself  in 
threatening  and  entreaties.  Christ  invites  '^  all,"  ^'  Who- 
soever," *'lf  any  man" — that  includes  you  ail  now. 
What  more  can  He  say  and  do  ?     Will  you  stjlj  tfumpl^ 


I 


FUTURE    PUX  IS  mi  EXT— WHAT? 


isa 


M 


on  the  offers  of  mercy  and  the  blood  of  Calvary  on  your 
way  to  perdition  ?  Yon  cannot  pass  down  these  aisles 
without  either  accepting  or  rejecting  Citrist.  There  lie 
stands  I  You  are  diseased.  He  is  the  divine  Physiciiin. 
He  holds  out  tiie  remedy.  See  His  hands.  Each  palm 
bears  the  print  of  a  nail.  The  spear- wound  is  in  His 
side.  He  steps  across  the  aisle.  I  put  the  question  : 
**  What  will  ye  do  with  Jesus,  who  is  called  Christ  ?" 
You  say,  Nothing.  Stop  I  Not  to  accept  Him  is  to  re- 
ject Him.  Will  you  do  it  again  ?  Behold  the  Lily  of 
the  Valley.  See  the  Plant  of  Renown.  The  odor  fills 
the  room.  It  comes  to  your  senses.  It  may  to-night  bo 
the  savor  of  life  unto  life,  or  of  death  unto  death.  Which 
will  it  be  ?  You  are  transacting  business  for  God  and 
eternity.  The  righteous  spoken  of  in  the  text — Who  are 
they  ?  **  These  are  they  which  came  out  of  great  tribu- 
lation, and  have  washed  *^^heir  robes  and  made  them  white 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  The  fountain  is  still  open. 
Wash  and  be  made  white  as  snow.  This  large  congrega- 
tion will  now  separate.  We  go  out  under  God's  stars. 
"We  shall  never  all  meet  again  until  we  meet  at  the  bar 
of  God. 

I  have  tried  to  speak  faithfully  and  tenderly.  Flip- 
pancy or  severity  ought  to  have  no  place  here.  By  the 
terrors  of  the  Lord  I  would  pers  lade  you  ;  by  the  mer- 
cies of  God  I  would  draw  you  ;  by  the  agony  of  Getli- 
semane  and  the  breaking  heart  of  Calvary  I  would  win 
you  to  Jesus  and  heaven  to-night.  If  you  turn  not,  yon 
shall  die  in  your  sin.  Why  will  ye  die  ?  Now  accept 
the  offer  of  God's  mercy,  and  at  the  last  you  shall  share 
in  His  glory. 


:!j 


i  {^ 


XY. 
BANDS  OF  LOVE. 

"  I  drew  them  with  cords  of  a  man,  with  bands  of  love." — Hossii 
11  :4. 

If  you  look  for  a  moment  at  the  context,  you  will  see 
that  God  is  here  expostulating  with  Israel  because  of 
their  rebellion  against  Him.  He  had  been  very  gracious 
to  Israel ;  He  had  not  dealt  so  with  any  people  under 
heaven.  "When  they  first  began  to  multiply  into  a  na- 
tion in  Egypt,  He  set  His  love  upon  them.  When  fret- 
ful and  froward  as  children,  He  still  bore  with  them  and 
loved  them.  With  a  high  hand  and  outstretched  arm  He 
delivered  them  from  tlie  house  of  bondage.  By  marvel- 
lous displays  of  His  goodness  and  greatness  He  fed  them 
with  manna  in  the  wilderness,  and  brought  them  in 
safety  to  the  land  of  promise.  Out  of  Egypt  He  called 
His  Son.  This  was  historically  true  of  the  children  of 
Israel  ;  it  was  also  prophetic  of  Him  who  was  their  Lord 
and  ours.  In  this  verse  and  the  preceding  one,  we  have 
two  homely,  but  expressive  figures  illustrative  of  God's 
loving-kindness  and  tender  mercy  toward  Israel.  The 
first  is  drawn  from  the  nursery.  Israel  is  thought  of  as 
a  child  in  leading-strings,  and  God  as  the  gentle  nurse. 
The  nurse  is  at  one  end  of  the  string,  the  child  at  the 
other.  The  trembling,  tottering  child  is  encouraged  to 
venture  out  and  walk  forward,  because  of  the  strong 
hand  and  loving  heart  which  are  thus  guiding  and  sup- 
porting.    The  remaining  figure  is  equally  homely  and 


III' 


BANDS   OF   LOVE. 


185 


expressive,  and  to  an  agricultural  peoplo  must  have  been 
profoundly  significant.  The  picture  suggested  is  that  of 
the  careful  Im -band man  moving  or  pulling  forward  tlie 
yoke  or  collar  from  the  boated  nocks  of  liio  weary  ani- 
mals. The  design  is  to  let  the  cooling  air  in  betwt;en 
tiie  collar  and  the  neck.  Otherwise,  the  neck  might  bo 
scalded  and  the  skin  be  removed.  At  the  end  of  tlie 
furrow  the  ploughman  does  this  wlien  the  cattlo  stop  a 
moment  to  take  breath.  The  bridle  is  removed  from 
their  jaws  and  a  handful  of  grass  is  given  to  refresh  tho 
weary  animals  as  they  turn  to  follow  the  nexi  furrow. 
So  God  removed  yokes  from  the  necks  of  His  peo|  'e  ; 
80  God  furnished  refreshment  for  them  in  their  weary 
way.  By  these  two  figures  He  sets  before  us  llis  pa- 
tience and  thoughtfulness  toward  His  ancient  people, 
and  toward  His  true  children  still. 

But  this  morning  I  confine  your  thought  to  the  first 
clause  of  the  verse — the  first  figure  here  described.  It 
teaches  us  God's  method  of  leading  men  into  His  king- 
dom, and  leading  them  forward  to  tho  service  and  en- 
joyment of  His  Church. 


THE   DIVINE   DRAWING. 


1.  "We  learn,  then,  in  the  first  place,  that  God  draws 
men  into  His  kingdom.  It  cannot  be  too  strongly  em- 
phasized that  this  is  God's  work.  Christ  tslls  us  that  no 
man  can  come  to  Him  except  the  Father  draw  him. 
This  language  of  Christ  teaches  us  both  the  necessity  of 
such  divine  drawing  and  also  its  actual  existence.  Man's 
inability  is  not  physical.  It  is  a  disinclination  of  his 
proud  will  and  stubborn  hfiart.  It  is  well  for  us  to  learn 
at  the  outset  our  utter  helplessness.  Only  as  we  learn 
that  lesson  can  we  avail  ourselves  of  the  divine  helpful- 


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CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


denying  Him,  but  weeping  bitterly.  Come  back  to  Him 
this  morning,  and  He  will  graciously  receive  and  abun- 
dantly pardon  you. 

Perhaps  there  are  some  who  have  never  come.  You 
must  seek  Jesus  Christ  to  day.  Come  to  Him  that  you 
may  know  Him  as  your  personal  Saviour.  These  sum- 
mer congregations  ure  to  me  a  great  joy  and  a  great  re- 
sponsibility. I  have  the  opportunity,  in  the  Providence 
of  God,  to  speak  to  those  I  am  not  accustomed  to  ad- 
dress ;  you  are  here  from  many  States  of  our  Union. 
This  congregation  now  met,  will  never  meet  just  the 
same  again.  You  come,  you  go.  We  shall  meet  at  the 
judgment-eeat  of  Christ.  Oh,  if  you  reject  Him  now, 
He  must  reject  you  then  !  This  may  be  the  turning- 
point.  If  you  say,  depart,  now  ;  He  must  say,  depart, 
then.     God  forbid,  for  Jesus^  sake. 


YII. 
KOT   WEARY  IN   WELL-BOING. 

*•  And  let  as  not  be  weary  in  well-doing  :  for  in  due  season  we  sbaU 
reap,  if  we  faint  not."— Gal.  6  : 9. 

Thkee  different  nations  or  tribes  inhabited   Galatia. 
Their  heathenism  had  been  of  a  peculiarly  gross  and  de- 
basing kind.     Tall  and  imposing  in  person,  and  impetu- 
ous in  their  attacks,  they  were  da.jgerous  foes  ;  but  they 
formed  a  special  attachment  to  the  Apostle  Paul,  who 
had,  as  it  would  seem,  first  preached  the  Gospel  to  them. 
Their  first  love  to  him  and  to  the  truth  was  ardent  and 
demonstrative.     They  were  ready,  the  apostle  reminds 
them,  to  pluck  out  their  eyes  and  to  give  them  to  him, 
if  that  were  possible  ;  but  he  also,  in  a  tone  of  mingled 
authority  and  sorrow,  expresses  his  wonder  that  they 
were  so  soon  drawn  away  to  another  gospel  than  that 
which  he  had  preached.     They  were  warm-hearted  but 
fickle.    They  needed  the  word  of  rebuke  and  encourage- 
ment implied  in  the  text.     In  our  need  of  this  word  we 
are  all  Galatians.     We  run  well  for  a  season,  and  then 
we  hesitate,  droop,  and  loiter.     Let  us  take  these  instruc- 
tive and  encouraging  words  as  our  own  to-day. 

AN    INSPIRED    STANDARD. 

1.  We  have  here  an  inspired  standard  for  a  noble  life 
—**  well-doing."  Many  never  attempt  to  come  up  to 
this  standard.  Such  a  thought  has  never  suggested  itself 
to  their  minds.     There  are  thousands  in  all  our  cities 


04 


CIimST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


who  were  born  in  sinful  and  wretched  homes,  and  wliose 
companions  and  surroundings  all  tended  to  drag  them 
down  ;  they  have  scarcely  known  a  pure  thought,  felt  a 
noble  aspiration,  or  made  even  one  effort  in  the  direction 
of  well-doing.  Such  people  are  to  be  blamed  ;  they  are 
to  be  pitied  also.  But  go  higher  up  in  the  scale  of  life, 
and  you  may  find  the  same  absence  of  such  a  standard. 
There  are  homes  in  which  wealth  abounds,  and  culture 
is  possessed,  and  yet  there  is  no  thought  of  well-doing. 
Self  is  supreme.  As  compared  with  that  of  the  former 
class,  this  is  doubtless  a  refined  selfishness  ;  but  it  is 
nevertheless  selfishness,  and  selfishness  is  the  essence  of 
sin.  Living  for  self  is  abominable  idolatry.  The  man 
who  60  lives  is  dead  while  he  lives. 

!N^o  doubt  all  of  us  fall  far  below  this  lofty  standard 
given  by  Paul.  There  never  was  but  one  life  which 
perfectly  reached  this  standard.  What  a  suggestive  de- 
scription we  have  of  Christ  where  it  is  said  of  Him  **  Who 
went  about  doing  good  !"  This  simple  and  sublime  de- 
scription brings  before  us  a  picture  of  unceasing  activity 
and  unchanging  benevolence.  This  element  in  Christ's 
life  gives  Ilim  power  even  to  this  hour.  Good  deeds 
never  die.  Those  who  imitate  the  example  of  Christ  in 
well-doing  may  for  a  time  be  despised  a:-d  rejected,  but 
eventually  they  will  receive  their  reward.  It  is  still  true 
that  **  the  righteous  shall  be  in  everlasting  remem- 
bk'ance.."  The  names  of  the  three  noble  Hebrews  who 
for  truth  and  for  God  went  into  the  fiercely-heated  fur- 
nace are  written  forever  on  the  eacred  page.  The  names 
of  "  the  most  mighty  men"  who  cast  them  into  the  fur- 
nace were  never  recorded  ;  the  furious  flames  **  slew" 
their  persons.  **  The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed  ; 
but  the  name  of  the  wicked  shall  rot. " 

Although  we  may  not  reach  the  high  standard  which 


KOT  WEARY   IN   WELL-DOING. 


95 


Paul  gives  us,  and  which  Christ  ilhistrated,  it  is  well  to 
aim  for  it.  Emerson,  in  a  very  Emersonian  phrase, 
says,  "  Young  man,  hitch  your  wagon  to  a  star."  We 
catch  his  meaning.  It  is  good  advice.  In  the  Royal 
Gallery  at  Dresden,  that  gallery  so  rich  in  the  triumphs 
of  art,  is  the  matchless  Madonna  of  Eaphael.  An  entire 
room  is  devoted  to  that  wonderful  creation  of  genius. 
For  hours  students  and  lovers  of  art  gaze  upon  it.  They 
depart  but  to  return  and  gaze  again  on  this  master-piece. 
1^0  artist  can  hope  to  approach,  far  less  to  excel  it ; 
but  it  is  a  constant  inspiration  to  every  true  student  to 
loftier  endeavors.  No  sculptor  expects  to  rival  Prax- 
iteles, but  even  the  traditions  of  the  immortal  Greek  give 
enthusiasm  to  his  humblest  imitator.  Let  us  aim  at  the 
stars,  and  we  may  hit  the  tree-tops.  This  endeavor 
brings  joy.  We  have  too  much  exaggerated  the  trials 
of  the  Christian  life.  We,  as  Christians,  need  give  up 
only  what  it  is  harmful  to  keep.  We  give  up  what  the 
sick  man  gives  up  when  the  flush  of  health  again  mantles 
his  cheek.  We  give  up  what  the  prisoner  does  when 
the  prison-door  is  thrown  open,  and  he  breathes  again 
the  air  of  freedom.  There  is  joy  in  this  lofty  aim. 
The  Christian  looks  to  the  end  of  his  course  for  his  full 
reward,  but  he  has  a  glorious  reward  in  peace  and  love 
even  here.  Many  a  transgressor  finds  his  way  through 
sin  to  death  and  perdition  tenfold  harder  than  does  the 
Christian  in  striving  to  follow  Christ  in  well-doing. 
Life  is  short,  but  it  determines  our  eternity.  It  projects 
itself  into  an  unending  future.  Short  as  is  a  cannon,  its 
direction  when  discharged  determines  the  course  of  the 
ball.  Only  "well-doing"  here  receives  the  "well- 
done  "  there. 

"  He  lives  who  lives  to  God  alone, 
And  all  are  dead  beside." 


96 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


A  DANGER  SUGGESTED. 

2.  The  apostle  suggests  a  clanger  to  which  we  are  ex- 
posed— "  Let  us  not  be  weary  in  well-doing."  We  are 
all  liable  to  weariness  in  doing  good.  The  intirmities  of 
the  flesh  often  make  us  weary.  We  are  in  the  body. 
We  are  of  the  earth,  earthy.  We  are  subject  to  the 
limitations  and  conditions  of  our  earthly  life.  Here,  as 
everywhere,  the  example  of  Christ  is  helpful.  He  knows 
what  weariness  means  ;  He  has  felt  the  same.  No  labor- 
ing man  was  ever  more  exhausted  than  was  Jesus  when 
He  laid  His  head  upon  the  pillow  in  the  hinder  part  of 
the  ship  and  slept.  A  sleeping  Christ  !  How  marvel- 
lous the  thought  !  It  had  been  a  day  of  exciting  and  ex- 
hausting toil  with  Jesus,  whichever  view  of  the  incident, 
and  its  place  in  the  narrative,  we  may  take.  Jesus  was 
physically  weary  in  well-doing  ;  and  He  slept,  although 
the  spray  may  have  dashed  into  His  face  and  bedewed 
His  hair.  He  slept,  although  fear  had  urmianned  the 
disciples  so  long  inured  to  the  dangers  of  the  lake.  We 
know  that  on  another  occasion  Christ  was  '*  wearied  with 
His  journey,"  and  He  ''  sat  thus" — thus  wearied — *'  on 
the  well."  Still,  He  embraced  the  opportunity  to  talk 
to  the  s.'nful  woman  of  Samaria  of  the  water  of  life. 
Yes,  often  we  are  weary  in,  but  never  of,  the  work  to 
which  we  are  called. 

The  ingratitude  of  those  we  strive  to  help  is  another 
cause  of  weariness.  Ingratitude  is  as  common  as  it  is  de- 
testable. Almost  all  nations  havt  voiced  their  sense  of 
the  sin  of  ingratitude  in  striking  proverbs  :  '*  Eat  the 
present,  and  break  the  dish,-'  says  the  Arabic  proverb. 
The  Spanish  says,  *'  Bring  up  a  raven,  and  it  will  peck 
out  your  eyes."  *'  Put  a  snake  in  your  bosom,  and 
when  it  is  warm  it  will  sting  you,"  says  the  English  prov- 


NOT  WEARY   IN"   WKL.. -DOING. 


97 


e^b. 


Tho  world  is  ungrateful.  It  lives  on  God's 
bounty,  and  yet  refuses  to  own  His  power  or  to  accept 
His  love.  **  Where  are  the  nine  ?"  asked  Christ  ;  and 
there  is  a  tone  of  indescribable  sadness  in  His  question. 
To  do  some  men  the  favor  they  solicit  is  to  make  them 
ever  after  your  cold  friends  or  your  open  enemies. 
When  love  turns  to  hate,  no  hate  is  so  bitter.  It  is  said 
that  the  man  who  severed  Cicero's  head  from  his  body, 
the  leader  of  the  assassins,  was  one  whom  Cicero's. won- 
derful eloquence  had  successfully  defended,  when  on 
trial  for  the  murder  of  his  father.  "Wo  have  all  felt  the 
deadening  influence  of  ingratitude.  Our  warm  sym- 
pathy has  flowed  out  in  words  and  deeds  of  helpfulness, 
and  that  sympathy  has  been  so  chilled  by  the  ingratitude 
and  un worthiness  of  those  we  helped,  that  it  has  flowed 
back  to  paralyze  our  hearts.  But  we  must  do  good  from 
higher  motives  than  to  secure  the  gratitude  of  those  bene- 
fited. We  must  do  it  for  its  own  sake  and  for  Christ's 
sake.  He  laid  down  His  life  for  us  when  we  were  un- 
thankful. Thank  God,  there  are  some  who  are  grateful. 
"We  have  seen  the  tear  of  gratitude  tremble  in  the  eye, 
and  when  it  was  wiped  away  we  have  seen  the  light  of 
hope  sparkle  there.  A  word  of  kindness  has  banished 
from  some  weary  heart  and  sorrowful  home  weeks  of 
sadness,  and  has  opened  a  future  of  hopefulness.  Do 
not  become  morose.  Do  not  say  that  gratitude  is  a  for- 
gotten virtue.  A  cynic  is  almost  as  bad  as  an  ingrate. 
Indeed,  cynicism  and  ingratitude  are  kin  to  each  other. 
In  many  cases  your  words  and  deeds  of  well-doing  are 
bearing  precious  fruit  in  the  changed  homes  and  the  re- 
deemed lives  of  men,  women,  and  children,  who  shall 
rise  up  to  call  you  blessed. 

Our  apparent  want  of  success  is  another  cause  for 
weariness.     There  is  so  much  to  be  done,  that  we  are 


98 


CHltlST,    AND    niM    CIIL'CIFIED. 


Bometimes  disposed  to  give  up  in  despair.  Where  shall 
we  l)L'f^iii  ?  How  can  we  do  anything  ?  Much  of  the 
labor  which  has  been  performed  seems  wasted.  Then 
there  is  so  much  opposition  to  contend  against.  This 
opposition  often  comes  from  those  wliom  we  wisli  to 
benefit,  to  lift  from  sin  to  holiness  and  heaven.  Some- 
times it  comes  from  cold-hearted  Christians.  It  is  so 
easy  to  criticise  ;  so  easy  to  charge  tliose  who  are  willing 
to  work  with  being  visionary,  impracticable,  fanatical. 
It  is  so  hard  to  help  men  who  have  no  sense  of  their  need 
of  our  help.  One  cannot  help  sometimes  remembering 
our  Lord's  words  about  casting  pearls  before  swine. 
City  authorities  oppose  you.  They  issued  some  time  ago 
their  orders  to  muzzle  dogs,  and  we  were  glad.  They 
stUl  license  saloons,  and  we  are  sorry  ;  for  while  the 
rabid  dog  may  occasionally  destroy  its  man,  the  death- 
dealing  saloon  destroys  its  thousands.  What  is  to  be 
done  with  the  great  masses  of  the  unchurched  ?  What 
can  be  done  to  prevent  the  shameful  desecration  of  God's 
holy  day  by  the  hundred  thousand  people  who  make  up 
the  Sunday  excursions  ?  And  even  of  those  who  attend 
the  house  of  God,  why  is  it  that  so  few  accept  the  ofiFers 
of  the  Gospel  ?  There  are  times  when  we  cannot  help 
asking  such  questions.  Then,  again,  many  who  appar- 
ently have  accepted  Christ  run  well  for  a  season,  then 
fall  back  in,  or  entirely  out  of  the  Christian  race.  You 
have  seen  a  man  redeemed  from  his  cups  and  other 
vices.  Prayers  of  gratitude  for  his  deliverance  were 
offered  ;  songs  of  joy  were  sung.  You  have  seen  him 
again  in  his  place  in  business  and  society,  his  home  a 
paradise,  his  wife  radiant  with  joy,  and  his  children 
transformed  almost  beyond  recognition.  ITour  own 
heart  leaps  for  joy.  You  glory  in  the  bliss  of  well-doing. 
Earth  is  to  you  a  foretaste  of  heaven.    You  almost  envy 


NOT  WEARY   IN   WELL- DO  I  NO. 


99 


Christ,  because  it  was  always  in  Ilia  power  to  give  joy 
for  sorrow,  sight  for  bliudFiess,  health  for  sickness,  life 
for  death.  You  have  actually  had  a  holy  jealousy  of 
Christ's  power.  How  glorious  life  is  to  you  !  But  one 
day  when  you  come  home,  tliis  man's  wife  meets  you. 
Iler  face  is  stained  with  tears,  her  eyes  are  red  with 
weeping,  her  heart  is  nearly  broken  with  sorrow.  She 
does  not  speak.  She  need  not.  You  know  the  story. 
Yes,  he  has  been  drinking  for  a  v\reek.  He  is  a  demon. 
To  her  and  her  children  life  seems  hopeless,  and  death 
would  be  welcome.  Or,  perhaps,  it  is  a  disobedient 
son  or  an  infatuated  daughter  you  tried  to  save,  and 
with  equally  sad  results.  I  am  giving  history,  not 
romance.  Tell  me,  Christian  worker,  have  you  not 
sometimes  been  so  weary  that  you  have  thought,  if  you 
have  not  said,  "  It  is  enough,  O  Lord.  I  give  up,  I  will 
never  try  again  ?"  Not  so  fast,  brother,  sister ;  be 
patient.    Have  you  done  your  duty  ?     Rest  there. 


AN  ENCOURAGING  PROMISE. 

3.  We  have  also  in  the  text  an  encouraging  promise. 
But  a  condition  is  also  suggested.  We  must  not  faint. 
We  must  persevere  to  the  end.  There  must  be  no  re- 
pining, no  retreating,  no  fainting.  We  enlist  for  life, 
for  eternity,  indeed.  The  dew  of  youth,  the  vigor  of 
manhood,  and  the  wisdom  of  age  must  be  consecrated  to 
well-doing.  It  is  "  to  them  who  by  patient  continuance 
in  well-doing  seek  for  glory,  and  honor,  and  immortal- 
ity," that  the  promise  of  blessedness  is  given.  Then  let 
us  not  forget  that  God  must  be  the  judge  of  the  **  due 
time."  We  are  often  in  a  hurry  ;  God  never  is.  Per- 
haps the  greatest  miracle  in  Christ's  life  is  that  He  should 
wait  thirty  years  before  performing  a  miracle.  He  bided 
His  time.     Undue  haste  pays  the  penalty  of  speedy  de- 


100 


CHRIST,    AND   UIM   CKUCIFIED. 


■k 


cay.  Did  wo  know  all  the  reasons  as  God  knows  them 
we  should  always  approve  of  His  seeming  delay.  How 
few  converts,  apparently,  there  were  in  Christ's  personal 
ministry  I  but  one  sermon  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  brings 
three  thousand*  to  Jeeus*  feet.  Soon  the  number  in- 
creased so  rapidly  tliat  Luke  ceases  to  give  us  figures. 
Carey  and  liis  companions  must  labor  seven  years  before 
the  first  Hindoo  convert  is  baptized.  Judson  must  toil 
on  until  the  churches  grow  disheartened,  and  everything 
but  his  own  faith  and  God's  promise  fails.  In  a  single 
recent  year  eighteen  thousand  are  baptized  in  connection 
with  our  Baptist  work  on  these  same  foreign  fields  I 
These  things  are  not  accidental.  Thev  have  their  rea- 
sons.  We  cannot  always  trace  the  law.  God  can.  Let 
us  do  our  duty,  and  leave  the  result  with  Him. 

But  complying  with  the  conditions  of  God  success  is 
certain.  What  is  success  ?  Not  all  which  either  the 
world  or  the  Church  calls  by  that  name.  Much  which 
neither  tlie  world  nor  the  Church  so  calls  is  success.    We 

» 

remember  the  oft-quoted  incident  at  Waterloo.  At  the 
crisis  in  the  battle  when  all  depended  on  the  firmness  of 
the  soldiers,  messenger  after  messenger  came  into  the 
presence  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  urging  that  the 
troops  at  an  important  point  be  withdrawn,  as  they  must 
soon  yield  before  the  terrible  onsets  of  the  French.  The 
only  reply  the  duke  returned  was,  **  Stand  firm."  The 
officer  remonstrated,  "  We  shall  all  perish."  Again  the 
iron-hearted  duke  siiid,  "  Stand  firm."  **  You'll  find 
us  there,"  said  the  officer  as  he  galloped  away.  Every 
man,  it  is  said,  of  that  doomed  brigade  fell  fighting  at 
liis  post.  They  did  their  duty.  That  is  success.  Going 
up  Fifth  Avenue  to  the  grounds  of  the  new  cathedral  a 
little  time  ago,  we  saw  a  workman  carving  part  of  a  floral 
design  on  stone.     "  Where  is  this  stone  to  bo  put,  and 


NOT   WEARY    IS   WELL-DOIXO. 


lOL 


what  will  be  tho  design  when  complete?"     "1  don't 
know,"  said  he  ;  *'  my  ])U8ine8s  is  to  transfer  this  pattern 
to  this  sto.io  ;  tho  master-workman  know^s  the  rest. "     lie 
was  doing  good  work.    He  did  his  duty.    That  was  suc- 
cess.   To-day  that  stone  adorns  some  l^y  arch.    Tho 
parts  are  joined,  a  complete  and  beautiful  whole  is  the 
result.     In  one  of  our  ])apers  some  chapters  were  pub- 
lished some  time  ago  of  a  history  soon  to  be  written, 
entitled,  *'  The  Fall  of  Slavery."    Some  parts  of  that 
chapter  are  thrilling.     Behold  the  aged  Benjamin  Lundy 
travelling  on  foot,  with  his  staff  in  hand,  and  his  pack 
on  his  back,  through  winter's  winds  and  snow  on  his 
journeys  from  Baltimore,  Md.,  to  Bennington,  Vt.     He 
goes  to  talk  with  the  young  and  brave  William  Lloyd 
Garrison  of  the  sin  of  slavery  and  the  hope  of  freedom. 
The  winds  which  sweep  the  lofty  ranges  of  the  Green 
Mountains  come  to  these  two  men  as  the  dirges  of  slavery's 
**  Miserere  ;"  they  go  from  them  laden  with  the  notes  of 
freedom's  '*  Te  Deum."     But  what  sowing  of  tears  and 
blood,  before  tho  sheaves  of  freedom  are  gathered  I     Be- 
hold Mr.  Garrison  dragged  through  the  streets  of  Boston 
with  a  rope  about  his  neck.     Could  the  prospects  of 
freedom  be  darker  ?     Surely  he  will  faint  with  weari- 
ness.    But  that  man  lived  to  see  the  last  chain  of  the 
last  slave  melted  in  the  tires  of  battle,  and  to  hear  the 
winds  which  sweep  over  every  mountain  and  valley  of  a 
redeemed  nation  chanting  liberty's  jubilee.     1  have  re- 
ferred to  the  Duke  of  Wellington.     It  is  a  noticeable 
fact  that  in  his  despatches,  which  fill  twelve  large  vol- 
umes, the  word  "  glory"  never  appears  ;  not  even  after 
his  greatest  victories,  but  always   the  word  "  duty," 
**  duty."     The  word  '*  glory'*    predominates  in  all  of 
Napoleon's  despatches.     This  characteristic  of  Welling- 
ton is  to  be  traced  to  the  lesson  he  learned,  as  he  himself 


10;} 


CHUIST,    AND   JIIM    CUUCIFIED. 


tells  US,  in  youth  from  his  catechism,  the  lesson  **  of 
doing  your  duty  in  that  station  of  life  to  which  it  shall 
pleaso  God  to  call  you."  That  is  success.  Reap  that. 
God  will  care  for  the  other  certain  harvests. 

To-day  I  sfftnmon  you  to  duty.  Tlirough  winter's 
cold  and  summer's  heat  stand  firm.  Do  your  work. 
Some  will  rcuiain  at  homo  during  the  summer  ;  othcis 
will  bo  away.  Wherever  you  are  be  true  to  Christ. 
Display  the  banner.  Let  "  well-doing"  bo  your  standard. 
Never  be  weary,  so  as  to  neglect  duty.  Know  that  as 
God's  promise  is  sure,  *'  Wo  shall  reap."  Know  that 
**  lie  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious 
seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing 
Lis  sheaves  with  him." 

Weary  one,  the  everlasting  arm  is  about  you.  World- 
lings may  faint.  Christians  never.  "  Even  the  youths 
shall  faint  and  be  weary,  and  the  young  men  shall  utterly 
fall  :  but  they  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their 
strength  ;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles  ; 
they  shall  run,  and  not  be  weary  ;  and  they  shall  walk,  and 
not  faint." 


i 


VIIT. 


SAD  SOWINC;— GLAD  REAPING. 


*' He  thut  poetli  fortli  nuil  weepetli,  bearinf*  precious 'Heed,  slmll 
doubtless  coiuo  again  with  rojoiciug,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  hiui." 
~Pba.  12G  :  G. 

This  Psalm  was  doubtless  composed  with  referenco  to 
the  return  from  the  Babylonish  captivity.  The  first 
group  of  colonists  had  returned.  The  permission  to 
return  was  so  unexpected,  and  all  the  circumstances  were 
80  providential,  that  when  they  actually  found  thein- 
Bclves  in  the  land  of  their  hopes  aiid  prayerK  Jiey  were 
like  those  that  dreamed.  It  6ce:ncd  too  go'  i  to  be  true. 
God  had  interposed  in  a  marvehous  way,  and  their  higli- 
cst  hopes  were  more  than  realized.  AVitli  thoughts  like 
these  the  Psalm  opens.  But  the  Psalmist  goes  on,  and 
represents  the  returned  colonists  as  olfering  earnest  prayer 
for  those  left  behind.  As  a  matter  of  fact  they  came 
back  in  various  groups.  Some  came  under  Cyrus,  some 
under  Daiius,  and  still  others  under  Xerxes  and  his  suc- 
cessors. As  Perowne  has  observed,  the  first  arrivals 
were  but  as  a  trickling  rill  amid  the  desert  wastes  ;  so 
the  prayer  bursts  from  the  Psalmist's  lips  that  God  would 
send  them  back  as  mighty  streams  swollen  by  the  winter 
rains.  During  their  absence  the  land  was  neglected.  It 
was  overgrown  with  weeds,  and  the  seed  had  not  been 
sown.  Still,  faith  could  overcome  these  difficulties.  Tho 
joy  of  harvest  would  more  than  repay  the  sorrow  of  sow- 
ing.    And  so  in  the  fifth  verse  of  the  Psalm  he  says, 


104 


ClIUIST,    AND    II I. M    CUUCIFIED. 


**  They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy."  The  text  is 
just  an  expansion  of  the  thought  contained  in  the  fifth 
verse.  In  the  text  the  singular  is  substituted  for  the 
plural  in  order  to  make  the  individual  sower  more  clis- 
tinot.  In  presenting  this  subject  we  shall  give  two  pic- 
tures, which  we  shall  entitle  **  The  Outgoing  Sower  and 
the  Incoming  Reaper." 

1.  First  picture — **  The  Outgoing  Sower."  These 
pictures  are  not  given  in  the  text  simply  in  outline. 
The  Psalmist,  with  the  pen  of  inspiration,  has  completely 
filled  in  all  their  parts.  Let  us  follow  him  in  this  in- 
spired description.  The  first  element  of  the  description 
is  expressed  in  the  words,  ^*  He  that  goeth  forth." 
There  is  here  a  literal,  a  verbal  accuracy.  We  know  that 
in  that  ancient  time  and  Oriental  land  the  harvest  fields 
were  often  at  a  great  distance  from  the  husbandman's 
humble  home.  Sometimes  he  was  obliged  to  go  six  or 
eight  miles  distant  in  order  to  reach  the  ground  wiiich 
he  cultivated.  Large  companies,  for  purposes  of  mutual 
protection,  went  out  in  the  early  dawn  from  their  homes 
and  returned  again  as  the  evening  shades  were  falling. 
Often  these  farmers  were  obliged  to  protect  themselves 
by  deadly  weapons  as  they  went  to  or  returned  from 
their  fields.  Something  similar  to  this  was  seen  in 
Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages.  It  was  literal  truth, 
then,  in  onr  Lord's  parable  when  He  said,  **  Behold,  a 
sower  went  forth  to  sow.  '^  Spiritually  this  is  true  always 
and  everywhere.  The  sincere  sower  of  the  good  seed  of 
tlie  kingdom  must  leave  the  ranks  of  ordinary  church 
members.  It  must  be  sadly  admitted  that  the  rank  and 
file  of  church  workers  do  but  little  aggressive  work  for 
the  Master.  The  earnest  seeker  for  souls  must  be  will- 
ing to  step  out  from  and  far  in  advance  of  the  line  which 
the  average  worker  reaches.     Take  out  of  our  very  be^t 


/ 


i 


f 


SAD   SOWING — CiLAI)    RKAPING. 


105 


f 


i 


] 


churches  a  score  or  more  of  earnest  workers,  and  little 
seed  would  bo  sown  and  few  harvests  reaped.  Every 
man  who  has  been  conspicuously  successful  for  Christ 
has  been  willing  and  even  obliged  to  go  forth  and  sow. 
Often,  too,  such,  workers  must  find  new  fields  of  Chris- 
tian enterprise.  In  doing  this  they  may  have  to  incur 
the  odium  of  indifferent  church  ^^embers.  When  Carey, 
our  great  Baptist  missionary,  arose  from  his  shoemaker's 
bench,  inspired  with  holy  love  and  fired  by  Christian 
zeal  for  the  heathen,  even  so  good  a  man  as  Dr.  Ryland 
could  say  to  him,  **  Sit  down,  young  man ;  when  God 
intends  to  convert  the  heathen  He  can  do  it  without  you 
or  me."  Something  of  the  same  spirit  manifests  itself 
on  the  part  of  extremely  conservative  men  to-day. 
Work  in  tents  and  halls  has  had  to  bear  a  secret  dislike, 
if  not  open  opposition,  from  many  who  bear  the  Chris- 
tian name.  But  men  who  know  the  constraining  love  of 
Christ,  and  who  feel  the  value  of  immortal  souls,  must 
not  fear  the  opposition.  Conscious  of  the  divine  call 
they  must  be  willing  to  go  forth  and  sow  the  precious 
seed  in  the  Master's  name.  If  they  feel  that  God  is 
with  them,  that  God  is  sending  them,  they  will  not  fear 
opposicion  ;  and  they  may  be  assured  that  they  will  yet 
return  with  rejoicing,  bringing  their  sheaves  with  them. 
The  next  element  in  the  picture  is  that  the  sower  is 
represented  as  weeping.  The  language  here  is  very 
strong.  One  comjnentator  puts  it  in  this  form,  *'may 
indeed  weep  every  step  that  he  goes."  It  has  also  been 
rendered,  ''  takes  no  step  of  his  way  without  weeping." 
The  double  infinitive  is  employed  *'  to  mark  the  continu- 
ance of  the  action."  There  is  also  a  literal  and  verbal 
accuracy  in  this  strong  language.  Sometimes  the  scarcity 
of  the  seed  makes  the  sower  well-nigh  a  weeper  as  lie 
scatters  it  in  the  furrow.    The  harvests  of  the  previouR 


106 


CHRIST,    AND    HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


year  have  been  poor.  By  the  exercise  of  great  economy 
the  humble  husbandman  has  enabled  his  family  to  subsist 
through  the  year.  "What  shall  he  now  do  ?  Not  to  sow 
the  seed  is  to  have  no  bread  for  the  coming  year  ;  but  to 
BOW  it  is  like  taking  the  bread  out  of  his  children's 
mouths  for  the  present  year.  This  is  the  power's  trying 
position.  We  know  that  sometimes  the  government  has 
been  obliged  to  step  in  and  furnish  seed-corn,  even  as  in 
the  days  of  Joseph  in  Egypt.  In  all  of  tliis  there  is 
much  to  make  sowing  sad  work.  But^  again,  the  ex- 
treme danger  to  which  the  sower  was  exposed  made  his 
labor  one  of  sadness.  As  Dr.  Thomson  tells  us  in  **  The 
Land  and  The  Book,"  the  sower  was  often  obliged  to 
drop  the  plough  and  seize  the  sword.  His  fields,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  were  far  from  his  home,  and  so  near 
the  lawless  desert.  As  in  Job's  day,  when  the  oxen  were 
ploughing  and  the  asses  feeding  beside  them,  the  Sabeans 
came  and  took  them  all  away,  so  often  since  fierce  hordes 
from  the  deserts  have  swept  down  upon  the  peaceful 
husbandman,  and  robbed  him  of  seed  and  implements, 
sparing  only  his  life.  In  all  of  this  there  was  much  to 
make  the  work  of  sowing  also  a  work  of  weeping. 

But  still  again,  the  frequent  fruitlessness  of  the  labor 
made  it  sad  toil.  The  land  had  gone  to  weeds.  The 
ground  was  fallow.  It  was  no  easy  task  to  break  up  this 
stubborn  soil.  Their  once  fruitful  land  was  barren,  and 
its  cultivation  was  a  work  of  the  utmost  toil.  Their  im- 
plements .  were  poor  and  ineliicient ;  their  oxen  were 
small  and  weak,  and  their  ovirn  skill  very  unlike  that  of 
the  farmer  of  modern  days.  For  these  and  similar  rea- 
sons the  literal  sowing  of  the  seed  might  be  called  a  work 
of  weeping.  The  spin  nal  sower  has  also  his  times  of 
sadness.  He  is  often  saddened  because  of  the  barrenness 
and  deadness  of  his  own  heart.     When  he  remembers 


BAD   SOWING — GLAD    REAPIKO. 


107 


the  matchless  love  of  Christ  for  him  and  others,  when  he 
remembers  the  value  of  an  immortal  soul,  when  he  looks 
upon  the  insensibility  of  men  without  God  and  without 
hope  in  the  world,  he  may  well  weep  day  and  night. 
Often  his  prayer  has  been,  **  Oh  that  my  head  were 
waters,  and  my  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  that  1  might  weep 
day  and  night  for  the  slain  of  the  daughter  of  my  peo- 
ple I"  He  is  also  saddened  because  of  the  indifference 
of  many  Christians  about  him.  They  bear  the  name  of 
Christ  but  fail  to  possess  the  spirit  of  Christ.  *'  He 
went  about  doing  good."  They  do  not  follow  in  His 
footsteps.  "Weary  with  His  journey,  and  oppressed  by 
the  heat  of  the  noonday  sun.  He  is  still  able  to  sow  the 
precious  seed  at  Jacob's  well  ;  but  many  who  now  pro- 
fess to  be  His  followers  grow  weary  in  welldoing  and 
utterly  abandon  the  task.  The  sower  of  the  spiritual 
seed  is  often  saddened,  too,  because  so  much  of  it  falls 
in  unfruitful  soil.  When  he  has  sown  it  with  prayers 
and  tears,  and  expects  to  reap  a  harvest  of  souls  for  the 
glory  of  his  Master,  he  discovers  with  unspeakable  sad- 
ness that  some  of  it  has  fallen  by  the  wayside,  and  the 
ftDwls  of  the  air  have  taken  away  the  good  seed  ;  while 
Btill  other  seed  has  fallen  into  stony  places,  and  by  and 
by  the  sun  of  persecution  destroys  the  tender  blade  ; 
while  other  seed  is  choked  by  the  cares  of  this  world  and 
the  deceitfulness  of  riches.  These  things  sadden  the 
sower's  heart.  When  one  runs  well  for  a  season  and 
then  falls  out  of  the  way,  a  sword  pierces  the  sower's 
heart. 

There  is,  however,  marvellous  power  in  this  element 
of  tenderness  in  seed-sowing.  I  have  known  farmers 
who  wished  for  a  speedy  growth,  to  steep  the  seed  in 
water  before  they  put  it  into  the  ground.  When  sown 
it  was  ready  at  once  to  sprout,  because  of  this  previous 


108 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIEDi 


hi 


il 


preparation.  When  men  can  baptize  the  good  seed  of 
the  kingdom  in  their  tears  and  prayers,  they  may  ex- 
pect soon  to  see  it  spring  up  and  bring  forth  fruit,  some 
thirty,  some  sixty,  and  some  an  hundredfold.  This  was 
an  element  of  power  in  the  life  of  the  Lord  Himself. 
To  what  times  do  we  look  in  Christ's  life  as  occasions 
which  most  powerfully  move  us  ?  Is  it  to  the  wonderful 
displays  of  His  power  when  He  hushed  the  raging  storm, 
and  the  wind  ceased  and  the  sea  became  a  pavement  of 
adamant  ?  or  shall  we  see  Him  in  a  still  greater  display  of 
His  power  ?  The  war  in  the  human  breast  is  wilder  than 
that  which  sweeps  over  the  ocean's  surface.  Christ  will 
prove  His  power,  not  only  over  this  war  of  the  elements, 
but  He  will  bring  peace  to  the  raging  storm  in  a  human 
soul.  The  man  who  had  lived  among  the  tombs,  who 
had  made  the  way  impassable,  who  had  cut  himself  with 
stones,  who  had  broken  chains  as  if  they  had  been  ropes 
of  sand,  is  seen  clothed,  sitting  in  his  right  mind  at  Jesns' 
feet.  These  displays  of  power  awaken  our  enthusiasm 
and  stir  our  tender  emotions.  But  not  here  shall  Christ 
most  move  the  world's  heart.  The  tears  of  Jesus  have 
melted  men's  hearts  tlirough  all  the  centuries.  Three 
times  during  His  earthly  life  did  He  weep.  The  first 
two  instances  are  recorded  in  the  gospels  ;  for  the  last 
instance  we  must  go  to  the  letter  to  the  Hebrews.  The 
first  were  tears  of  family  friendship  ;  the  second  were 
tears  of  patriotic  fervor  ;  the  last  were  tears  of  sacrificial 
love.  The  first  tears  were  a  rill  that  flowed  for  an 
afflicted  family,  when  Christ  wept  at  the  grave  of  Laza- 
rus ;  the  second  were  a  rivulet  streaming  forth  for  a 
doomed  nation,  when  He  beheld  Jerusalem  and  wept 
over  it ;  the  third  were  a  mighty  river  that  has  swept 
across  the  world,  when  He  bowed  in  Gethsemane  "  with 
strong  crying.anii  tears"  for  a. world's,  wpe.    This  ele^ 


SAD   80WIXQ— GLAD    UEAPINO. 


109 


ment  of  tenderness  gives  power  to  every  Christian  effort 
to-day.  There  is  often  more  power  in  a  warm  grasp  ox 
the  hand,  in  the  tremulous  voice,  and  in  the  tearful  eye, 
than  in  tlie  thunders  of  eloquence  and  the  arguments  of 
logic.  Just  at  this  pomt  many  workers  for  Christ  are 
shorn  of  their  power.  They  are  stately  and  cold.  They 
lack  the  sympathy  which  is  born  of  love  for  Christ  and 
for  the  souls  of  men.  If  we  are  to  draw  men  with  the 
cords  of  a  man,  we  must  have  the  bands  of  true  Christian 
love.  Oh,  for  that  kindness  which  comes  from  com- 
munion with  Christ,  and  appreciation  of  the  value  and 
loss  of  immortal  souls  I  He  who  sows  the  precious  seed 
in  this  spirit  shall  reap  the  golden  harvest.  We  remem- 
ber an  incident  which  illustrates  this  thought.  An  ear- 
nest Christian  was  very  anxious  for  the  conversion  of  a 
sceptical  blacksmith.  He  determined  to  visit  him  in  his 
shop  ;  he  would  fill  his  mouth  with  convincing  argu- 
ments and  thus  refute  all  the  blacksmith's  positions. 
He  came.  His  heart  was  overflowing  with  love  for  hia 
neighbor's  soul.  He  took  him  by  the  hand  ;  but  his 
emotions  choked  his  utterance  except  to  say,  *'  I  am 
greatly  concerned  for  your  soul."  He  could  say  no 
more.  It  was  enough.  The  arrow  went  home.  **  Con- 
cerned for  my  soul  ;  then  I  ought  to  be  concerned," 
thought  the  convicted  sinner.  Soon  he  was  consulting 
with  his  Christian  wife  ;  soon  he  was  journeying  to  his 
friend's  house  a  burdened  and  seeking  sinner.  That 
night  they  knelt  together  at  Jesus'  feet,  and  the  sceptic 
found  joy  and  peace  in  believing.  He  could  not  resist 
his  neighbor's  loving  solicitude.  Love  is  the  best  logic. 
It  furnishes  unanswerable  arguments.  Gentleness  is 
greatness  ;  meekness  is  mightiness.  Oh  for  Christ's 
tenderness  ! 
.  Another  element  in  this  picture  is  that  the  sower  goetli 


110 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


li 


forth  bearing  precious  seed.  The  idea  suggested  by  tho 
word  "  precious"  is  not  fonnd  in  the  original  word. 
TI10  seed  is  j^recious,  however,  both  in  its  literal  and 
spiritual  sense.  Strictly  speaking,  it  is  a  draught  or  a 
drawing  of  seed  that  is  here  mentioned.  It  has  sometimes 
been  called  the  "seed-basket."  It  is  as  much  seed  as 
the  sower  can  take  in  the  vessel  he  carries,  or  in  the  folds 
of  the  robe  which  he  wears.  In  literal  sowing  often  as 
much  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  seed  as  the  char- 
acter of  the  soil.  It  is  certainly  not  otherwise  in  spiritual 
life.  This  seed  is  the  Word  ;  this  is  the  good  seed  of  the 
kingdom.  Nothing  but  this  good  eecd  can  save  men. 
The  womar.  in  the  parable  might  have  put  something 
else  than  leaven  into  the  meal.  It  might  have  been  a 
nugget  of  gold  ;  it  might  have  been  a  valuable  diamond, 
but  it  never  would  have  leavened  the  meal.  So  here  ; 
whatever  else  men  sow,  if  it  be  not  this  precious  seed 
there  shall  be  no  harvest  of  joy.  All  of  us  have  listened 
to  sermons  ten  thousand  of  which  would  never  convert 
a  soul.  Had  God  converted  souls  under  such  preaching 
it  would  be  putting  a  premium  on  the  preaching  ot  error. 
Many  of  us  know  preachers  who,  themselves,  there  is 
reason  to  fear,  do  not  know  the  power  of  God's  grace. 
They  were  set  apart  by  their  parents  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel, as  other  members  of  the  family  were  set  apart  to 
practise  law  or  medicine,  or  to  enter  some  line  of  busi- 
ness. It  was  merely  a  profession.  The  case  of  such  a 
man  comes  to  me  as  1  speak.  In  Scotland  his  parents 
designated  him  to  the  ministry  in  this  spirit.  For  forty 
years  he  preached  in  one  pulpit.  A  revival  would  have 
startled  him  and  his  people  more  than  an  earthquake. 
Seldom,  except  when  there  were  revivals  in  other 
churches,  were  there  additions  to  his  church.  He  did 
sow  some  seed,  but  it  was  so  wrapped  up  in  the  cold 


SAD   SOWING — GLAD    HEAPING. 


Ill 


I 


formalities  of  lifeless  dogmas  that  a  harvest  could  not  be 
expected,  and  certainly  was  not  secured.  Wo  must  know 
Christ  as  our  personal  Saviour,  as  teachers  in  Sunday- 
schools,  as  workers  in  missions,  and  as  preacliers  in  the 
pulpit.  Our  own  hearts  must  glow  with  Cliristian  love, 
and  out  of  tlie  abundance  of  this  glowing  heart  our  glad 
lips  must  speak.  How  can  men  tell  others  of  Christ  ex- 
cept they  know  Ilim  for  themselves  ?  Surely  if  the  blind 
lead  the  blind  both  must  fall  into  the  ditch.  We  want 
at  this  hour  what  a  Chinese  convert  told  his  missionary 
that  his  people  needed — **  Men  with  hot  hearts  to  tell  us 
of  the  love  of  Christ."  A  thought  suggests  itself  here 
which  may  possibly  seem  fanciful  to  some,  and  yet  to 
me  it  comes  naturally  out  of  the  figure  employed.  The 
drawing  of  the  seed,  as  the  Word  implies,  was  as  much 
as  the  sower  carried  with  him  in  his  basket  or  robe,  from 
the  seed-pile  in  the  storehouse.  Is  it  not  true,  spiritually, 
that  the  sower  can  only  sow  what  he  carries  with  him  in 
his  own  brain,  and  in  his  own  heart  ?  He  cannot  sow 
the  seed  from  the  storehouse  of  God's  Word  except  ho 
has  first  taken  it  into  his  own  mind  and  heart.  There 
are  truths  which  no  man  can  understand  except  as  ho 
has  felt  his  way  through  them.  He  must  by  a  happy 
experience  know  something  of  the  deep  things  of  God's 
Wora  before  he  can  lead  others  into  its  profound  depths. 
There  can  be  no  power  in  merely  mechanical  or  profes- 
sional preaching,  whether  by  pastor,  teacher,  or  other 
Christian  worker.  Only  that  which  you  can  tell  from 
experience  is  really  your  own  of  God's  truth.  May  this 
inspired  picture  of  the  sower  live  in  our  thoughts,  and 
be  reproduced  in  our  lives  !  May  each  one  of  us  go  forth 
weeping,  bearing  this  precious  and  divine  seed,  sowing 
it  with  faith  and  hopo  in  the  hearts  of  our  fellow-men  I 
We  need  for  the  highest  success  the  *^  blood  earnestness" 


113 


CHRIST,   AND  HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


tir 


i|' 


born  of  intense  conviction,  and  inspired  by  Christ's  con- 
straining love. 

2.  The  second  pictnre — **  The  Incoming  Reaper." 
"Wo  have  here  in  the  Hebrew  a  striking  form  of  ex- 
pression. It  is  the  Combination  of  the  finite  tense  with 
the  infinitive  •  it  is  difficult  in  our  idiom  to  bring  out  the 
exact  thought.  In  some  versions  it  is  rendered,  **  Com- 
ing, Ho  shall  come."  This,  however,  Dr.  Alexander 
says,  **  conveys  neither  the  peculiar  form  nor  the  precise 
sense  of  the  Hebrew  phrase."  Luther's  repetition  of 
the  finite  tense,  most  scholars  are  agreed,  gives  us  the 
b.est  approximation  to  the  force  of  the  original,  **  He 
«hall  come,  He  shall  come."  The  certainty  of  His  com- 
ing again  is  the  thought  ;  this  our  common  version,  with 
its  **  shall  doubtless  come  again,"  clearly  teaches.  This 
is  the  first  clement  in  this  second  picture.  The  tearful 
sower  shall  become  the  joyful  reaper.  Of  this  there  can 
be  no  doubt.  There  is  a  law  of  spiritual  as  truly  as  of 
natural  agriculture.  No  good  word  spoken  for  or  of  God 
is  spoken  in  vain.  For  the  past  few  years  I  have  preached 
with  hr  more  certainty  of  a  spiritual  harvest  than  the 
husbandman  can  have  of  a  natural  harvest  when  he  casts 
the  seed  into  the  ground.  God's  Word  will  not  return 
to  Him  void.  This  He  has  declared  ;  this  we  must 
believe.  Doubting  it,  we  are  shorn  of  our  power  ;  we 
become  dwarfs  when  we  ought  to  be  giants.  Has  not 
God  declared  that  seed  time  and  harvest  shall  not  fail  ? 
And  they  do  not.  Shall  Ha  be  more  mindful  of  the 
harvests  of  the  earth  than  of  the  ingathering  of  souls  ? 
Rather,  in  the  spiritual  vineyard  we  ought  to  expect  a 
continuous  harvest.  "  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the 
Lord,  that  the  ploughman  shall  overtake  the  reaper,  and 
the  treader  of  grapes  him  that  soweth  seed."  Here  is 
a  continuous  hai'vest  ;.here  the  fruits  of  one  season  are 


SAD  SOWING — GLAD   REAPING. 


113 


not  gathered  before  the  sowing  for  the  next  season 
begins.  There  ought  never  to  be,  in  the  technical  sense, 
a  revival  in  a  church,  because  there  ought  never  to  bo 
anything  else.  Let  us  not  now  talk  of  waiting  four 
months  for  harvest.  Why  put  off  earnest  efforts  until 
the  week  of  prayer  ?  Lift  up  your  eyes  now  and  behold 
the  fields  white  already  with  harvest.  The  reaper  shall 
certainly  come.  Sunday-school  teachers,  continue  your 
work  in  this  spirit.  Par  nts,  preachers,  workers  in  ^11 
departments  of  Christian  effort,  you  do  not  toil  alone. 
God's  eye  is  upon  you.  You  shall  certainly  reap  if  you 
faint  not.  Go  forward.  Tearfully  sow  the  seed  ;  joy- 
fully await  the  harvest. 

A  second  feature  of  the  second  picture  is  that  the 
reaper  comes  with  rejoicing.  Of  course  he  does.  Why 
should  he  now  be  sad  ?  Some  of  us  remember  the 
**  Plar vest-home"  singing  and  rejoicing  when  the  last 
sheaf  was  gathered  in.  Something  like  that  is  here  im- 
plied. There  is  no  joy  like  that  w^hich  comes  from  suc- 
cessful work  for  Christ.  All  the  joys  of  earth  are  noth- 
ing when  compared  with  this.  This  endures  ;  this  allies 
us  to  angels  and  God.  This  awakens  the  purest  and 
noblest  instincts  of  the  soul.  In  this  joy  we  feel  the 
throb  of  Christ's  heart.  The  promise  to  Him  is  that 
**  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and  shall  be  satis- 
fied." This  joy  is  mingled  even  with  the  gloom  of  Geth- 
semane  and  Calvary.  It  was  for  the  joy  set  before  Him 
that  He  endured  the  cross  and  despised  the  shame.  I 
pity  the  man  who  knows  nothing  of  this  rejoicing  ;  I 
envy  the  man  whose  soul  is  constantly  overflowing  with 
its  blessedness. 

But,  again,  he  comes  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him. 
This  gives  additional  joy.  Behold  the  picture  !  He  is 
returning  with  his  sheaves.      These   he  cannot  carry. 


lU 


ClIUIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIPIKD. 


Oxen  and  the  wain  nro  introduced.  The  wagon  groans 
n rider  the  burden  ;  the  reaper  joyously  walks  on  before. 
He  is  abundantly  rewarded  for  his  toil  ;  his  soul  over- 
flows with  joy.  This  assurance  would  cheer  the  hearts 
of  the  exiles  who  were  still  journeying  homo  ;  it  would 
stimulate  those  who  had  returned.  It  encourages  all 
who  are  laboring  for  their  own  salvation  and  that  of 
others.  You  labor  not  in  vain.  God  shall  give  the  in- 
crease. We  ought  to  be  willing  to  labor  even  if  we  do 
not  reap.  God  may  sometimes  require  this  of  us.  One 
sows,  another  reaps.  Christ  taught  this  lesson.  But, 
thank  God,  lie  often  permits  us  both  to  sow  and  reap. 
Never  to  reap  requires  marvellous  faith  if  the  sower  be 
earnest ;  if  he  be  indifferent  ho  will  not  long  for  sheaves. 
But  we  may  expect  them.  As  God  lives  we  shall  not 
toil  in  vain.  Are  you  watching  for  the  harvest  ?  Are 
you  willing  to  stand  before  Christ  without  sheaves  ? 
God  forbid  that  this  should  be  the  experience  of  any  of 
you  !  There  is  a  great  harvest-day  coming.  The  field 
shall  bo  the  world  ;  angels  shall  be  the  reapers.  Oh, 
that  great  and  terrible  day  !  Oh,  that  joyous  and  blessed 
day  !  When  that  day  dawns  ''  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord 
shall  return,  and  come  to  Zion  with  songs  and  everlast- 
ing jcy  upon  their  heads  ;  they  shall  obtain  joy  and  glad- 
ness, and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee  away. " 

But  we  are  all  sowers  and  reapers.  The  law  of  spir- 
itual agriculture  is  as  sure  as  the  law  of  gravitation. 
You  may  not  expect  to  sow  thistles  and  reap  wheat ; 
you  cannot  sow  the  seeds  of  vice  and  reap  the  fruits  of 
virtue.  You  cannot  cheat  God.  If  you  sov/  the  flesh 
you  must  reap  corruption  ;  if  you  sow  the  wind  you 
must  reap  the  whirlwind  ;  if  you  sow  to  the  world,  the 
flesh  and  the  devil,  as  the  eternal  God  lives,  you  shall 
reap  an  eternal  hell.    Judging  by  your  sowing  to-day, 


SAD  SOWIVO-OIAD   BEAPIIfO.  Uj 

1  Mkyon  in  God'g  name,  '<  What  shall  the  harvest  be  J" 

Ian    T™"  "T  '°"'"''' '''"''  P'"'^^'^  tK  shall  he 
reap.     Turn  ye,  tnm  ye,  why  will  ye  die  ?    Sow  to-day 

he  seeds  of  a  tearful  repentance  and  yon  sM  «apZ 
fruits  of  a  joyful  forgiveness.    Patience,  counu»,  oh 

tiie  sheaves  thou  hast  given  us." 


IX. 

VICTORIOUS   TOITNG  MEN. 


It    . 


"  I  have  written  unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye  are  strong,  and 
the  Word  of  God  ubideth  in  you,  and  ye  have  overcome  the  wicked 
one."— 1  John  2  :  14.  , 

A  wELL-oROANizEi)  and  truly  prosperous  church  of 
Christ  will  ciribrace  in  its  members  all  classes  and  con- 
ditions of  society.  Such  a  church  will  have  the  rich  to 
give  it  social  position  and  financial  strength,  and  the 
poor  to  meet  the  requirement  of  Him  who  hath  said, 
"  For  ye  have  the  poor  always  with  you." 

Such  a  church  will  have  the  young  to  give  it  freshness 
and  enthusiasm,  and  the  aged  to  give  it  the  gravity  and 
wisdom  born  of  large  and  varied  experience.  It  will 
also  have  those  in  middle  life,  with  chastened  enthusi- 
asm and  ripening  wisdom — strong  to  fight  the  battles  and 
calm  to  rejoice  in  the  triumphs  of  the  Christian  life. 
Each  class  acts  and  reacts  healthfully  and  helpfully  on 
each  other  class.  A  beautiful  old  age  becomes  more 
1  eautiful  when  contrasted  with  the  opening  life  of  youth  ; 
;.nd  the  stalwart  strength  of  middle  life  assumes  grander 
proportions  when  placed  between  these  extremes.  A 
religious  teacher  Vvill  be  influential,  other  things  being 
equal,  in  proportion  as  he  is  able  to  sympathize  with  all 
these  classes — with  the  hopefulness  of  youth,  the  con- 
scious strength  of  middle  life,  and  the  ripe  experience 
of  age.  Such  a  man  was  the  Apostle  John.  He  was 
one  of  those  charming  old  men,  the  freshness  and  vigor 


VICTORIOUS    YOUXO    MKX. 


iir 


of  whoRO  hearts  remain,  althougli  their  heads  aro  white 
and  their  liinhs  are  feeble.  Here  he  addresses  tlio  little 
children — those  young  alike  in  years  and  in  Christian 
faith  ;  the  old  men — those  who  had  long  and  faithfully 
borne  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day,  some  of  whom 
may  have  had  ti  personal  acqunintance  with  the  Lord 
Jesus  ;  and  tli^  yt^""g  i"on — those  in  the  prime  and 
bloom  of  early  manhood.  He  could  appeid  to  the  latter 
because  they  were  strong.  Little  children  had  not 
reached  the  age  when  they  could  be  appealed  to  on  that 
basis  ;  old  men  had  passed  that  age.  He  calls  on  those 
who  possessed  energy  of  body  and  mind  to  stand  up 
valiantly  for  the  truth. 

What  was  right  for  John  to  do  in  his  day  is  both  the 
duty  and  privilege  of  every  pastor  to  do  in  our  day. 
Christ  gives  young  men  the  opportunity  and  glory  of 
giving  the  dew  of  their  youth  and  the  strength  of  their 
manhood  to  His  blessed  service. 

John  mentions  three  characteristics  of  these  young 
men.  Our  purpose  is  simply  to  give  an  exposition  and 
to  make  an  application  of  these  characteristics. 


FIRST  CnARACTEBISTIO. 

The  first  characteristic  is  suggested  by  the  words, 
**  Ye  are  strong.'*  There  is  inspiration  in  the  very 
words.  Youth  is  the  synonym  of  strength.  We  may 
well  believe  that  the  idea  of  physical  strength  enters 
into  John's  conception  of  strong  young  men.  There  is 
a  truth,  although  often  unduly  pressed,  in  what  is  called 
**  muscular  Christianity.' '  You  have  all  seen  young  men 
whose  admirable  physical  development  elicited  admira- 
tion. The  storms  which  snap  the  old  and  feeble  trees 
of  the  forest,  only  root  more  firmly  the  vigorous  oak  and 
the  supple  sapling.    So  the  storms  of  life,  which  dampen 


118 


CHRIST,    AND    IIIM   CRUCIFIED. 


! 
I 


ii  H 


the  ardor  of  the  very  young  and  chill  the  blood  of  the 
old,  only  quicken  the  life  and  awaken  the  enthusiasm  of 
young  men — giving  to  the  step  a  firmei  tread  and  to  the 
cheek  a  fresher  glow.  Such  men  seem  to  present  no 
vulnerable  point  to  the  approach  of  disease. 

The  Gospel  sanctifies  and  glorifies  the  body.  It  be- 
comes under  the  Gospel's  influence  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  It  is  a  false  and  wicked  conception  of  re- 
ligion which  degrades  the  body.  Religion,  when  its 
work  is  complete,  contemplates  the  resurrection  of  the 
body  as  well  as  the  redemption  of  the  soul.  Physical 
health  is  not  only  a  privilege  bat  a  duty.  Sickness  is 
often  a  reflection  on  a  young  man's  good  sense,  if  not 
on  his  moral  character.  He  who  sins  against  his  body 
sins  against  his  God.  The  Bible  properly  translated 
never  speaks  of  the  body  as  vile.  Ever  since  Christ 
tabernacled  in  human  flesh,  the  body  has  been  dignified 
and  glorified.  Let  us  honor  it  as  belonging  to  Christ, 
and  a  part  of  His  wonderful  workmanship.  All  true 
Christians  will  be  more  successful  in  their  "  high  call- 
ing "  if  there  is  a  good  body  around  a  good  soul.  And 
obedience  to  Christ  tends  directly  to  make  sound  bodies. 
It  nips  vice  in  the  bud,  supplants  impure  thoughts  and 
unholy  desires,  substituting  the  highest  aims  and  the 
best  motives  as  the  ruling  principle  of  life.  So  that  to 
write  Christ  upon  the  soul  is  often  to  write  health,  vigor, 
and  beauty  on  the  body.  But  all  men  cannot  be  thus 
strong.  Many  receive  as  their  only  heritage  a  poor, 
feeble  body.  Some  of  the  greatest  souls  that  have  ever 
labored  and  prayed  dwelt  in  weak,  frail  tenements.  It 
is  amazing  what  an  amount  of  work  such  a  soul  will  get 
out  of  sueh  a  body.  As  preachers,  as  artists,  authors, 
and  poets,  great  souls  and  weak  bodies  have  been  wedded 
until  they  were  divorced  by  death.     And  to-day  men 


Ii 


VICTORIOUS    YOUNQ   HEX. 


LIO 


and  women,  languishing  on  beds  of  pain,  are  in  their 
resignation,  their  patience,  their  heroism,  worthy  to  be 
called  in  the  highest  sense  strong — stronger,  perhaps, 
than  those  who  hold  aloft  the  banner  and  sing  aloud  the 
triumphs  of  their  Lord  and  Saviour. 

We  may  be  sure  that  intellectual  culture,  in  some 
degree,  at  least,  is  an  element  in  young  men  who  are 
strong.  Ignorance  is. a  crime.  There  is  no  excuse  for  it, 
with  the  system  of  public  instruction  open  to  rich  and 
poor  alike  in  our  country.  It  ought  to  be  known  that, 
in  a  true  sense,  knowledge,  not  ignorance,  is  the  mother 
of  devotion.  The  infinitely  great  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  infinitely  small  on  the  other,  invite  ns  to  their  study, 
and  charm  us  by  their  mystery.  Christianity  welcomes 
investigations.  Her  spirit  builds  our  free  schools  and 
endows  our  colleges  and  seminaries.  Christian  young 
men  ought  to  surpass  all  others  in  the  extent  and  char- 
acter of  their  attainments.  They  have  Christ  for  their 
Teacher,  and  the  noblest  men  and  purest  women  the 
world  has  ever  known  for  their  fellow-pupils.  Culture 
has  ever  adorned  Christianity  with  its  beauty ;  and 
Christianity,  in  turn,  has  crowned  culture  with  its  un- 
fading glories.  Learning  has  ever  found  its  noblest 
employment  in  casting  its  treasures,  like  the  wise  men 
from  the  East,  at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  Christ  must  be 
placed  in  the  ^ery  centre  .of  the  intellectual  life,  if  its 
highest  possibilities  are  to  be  realized.  All  intellectual 
activity  must  go  out  from  Him  as  light  rays  out  from 
the  sun.  When  He  is  so  enthroned  truths  will  adjust 
themselves  to  one  another  in  their  proper  relations.  Tlie 
pure  white  light  of  intellect  is  impossible  except  it 
kindles  its  torch  at  the  cross  of  Christ.  The  highest 
glory  of  Greek  and  I-atin  literature  was  a  reflection  from 
the  divine  splendor  which  rested  on  Hebrew  altars.     The 


120 


CHIUST,    AND   ni\I   CRUCIFIED. 


III! 


!i 


crystal  streams  of  these  literatures  find  their  origin  in 
the  blessed  truths  of  the  divine  revelation.  The  .nen 
who  most  triumphantly  walk  the  dizzy  heights  of  intel- 
lectual greatness  are  those  who  most  humbly  walk  with 
God.  The  most  loyal  disciple  in  Christ's  school,  other 
things  being  equal,  should  be  the  most  successful  disciple 
in  all  other  schools.  Christ  is  the  truth.  In  its  vast 
realm  He  is  King.  All  truth  worships  at  His  pierced 
feet.  This  thought  gives  dignity  to  intellectual  pursuits. 
All  angles  and  triangles,  sines  and  cosines,  thus  become 
revelations  of  the  thouglits  of  God.  Geometry  becomes 
voiceful  with  eternal  truths,  and  astronomy  declares  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  firmament  showetli  His  handiwork. 
All  history  is  but  an  unfolding  of  His  divine  plan  and 
eternal  purpose.  The  undevout  student  is  unscientific. 
How  can  he  master  the  great  truths  of  science  or  history 
if  he  be  disloyal  to  the  King  of  truth  ?  To  know  them 
aright  he  must  first  know  Him  aright.  As  well  might  a 
man  write  a  treatise  on  astronomy  and  leave  out  the  sun, 
as  attempt  to  write  a  history  of  this  world  and  leave  out 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  All  science, 
all  history,  all  true  intellectual  effort  receives  from  Him 
its  inspiration  and  lays  at  His  feet  its  noblest  achieve- 
ments. 

Strength  of  body  and  vigor  of  mind,  however,  do  not 
exhaust  the  Apostle  John's  idea  of  strong  young  men. 
The  noble  Paul  gives  us  his  conception  of  strength  when 
he  says,  '*  Finally,  brethren,  be  strong  in  the  Lord  and 
in  the  power  of  His  might.  Put  on  the  whole  armor 
of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of 
the  devil."  Young  men,  I  beseech  you.  do  not  attempt 
to  stand  alone.  Thousands,  strong  as  you,  have  fallen 
in  this  terrible  fight.  Hundreds  are  yearly  sacrificed  as 
an  awful  holocaust  to  Satan.    Will  you  swell  the  num- 


i 


VICTORIOUS   YOUNG    MEN. 


121 


l 


ber  ?  Will  you  bring  sadness  into  the  distant  homes 
where  in  innocence  }'ou  were  cradled  ? — into  the  hearts 
of  parents  whose  gray  hairs  you  may  1  ring  down  with 
sorrow  to  the  griivc  ?  Will  you  wound  afresh  the  Son 
of  God  ?  Attempt  not  this  fight  alone.  Satan  is  not  a 
match  for  Christ  ;  but  he  is  more  than  a  match  for  you. 
You  must  be  girded  by  the  strengtli  of  God  and  clothed 
in  the  righteousness  of  Christ.  Stand  with  God.  Stand 
alone  with  Him  if  need  be.  One  young  man  with  Christ 
by  His  side  is  a  tremendous  majority.  Then  you  will 
be  able,  "  having  done  till,  to  stand." 


SECOND   CHARACTERISTIC. 


The  second  characteristic  of  these  young  men  is  thus 
stated:  ''The  Word  of  God  abideth  in  you."  They 
liad  been  exposed  to  ''youthful  lusts;"  they  had  re- 
sisted the  allurements  of  vice,  and  triumphed  over  the 
powers  of  darkness.  They  had  been  tested  as  to  their 
adherence  to  the  principles  of  religion  and  the  truth  of 
God  ;  and  John  bears  the  testimony  that  the  Word  of 
God  was  abiding  in  them. 

The  presence  of  this  Word  in  their  hearts,  and  their 
devotion  to  it  in  their  lives,  were  a  proof  of  their 
strength.  The  Word  of  God  was  the  shield  with  which 
they  had  warded  off  the  fiery  darts  of  the  enemy.  The 
lesson  is  peculiarly  valuable.  Many  young  men  are 
ambitious  to  be  co..3idered  great  readers  ;  and  they  too 
often  neglect  the  Bible.  It  is  impossible  to  read  all  the 
books  published  by  the  prolific  press  of  the  day.  It  is 
iia  undesirable  as  it  is  impossible.  As  well  might  yoa 
submit  to  having  every  man  you  might  meet  on  Broad- 
way to-morrow  morning  take  you  by  the  buttonhole,  as 
have  every  book  published  arrest  your  attention.  There 
are,  however,  certain  classics  that  every  well-informed 


123 


CIIUIST,    AXD    IIIM    C'UL'CIFIEI). 


h     J 


man  should  read.     Works  of  liistory,  science,  art,  and 
Bonio  works  of  fiction  there  are  which  he  sliould  read, 
but  not  to  the  neglect  of  the  Word  of  God.     In  it  are 
hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge.    When 
Sir  Walter  Scott  lay  dying  he  asked  his  son-in-law,  Mr. 
Lockhart,  to  read  for  him.     *'  What  book?''  said  Mr. 
Lockhart.    ''  What  book  ?"  said  Sir  Walter.     "  There 
is  but  one  book — the  Bible — read  that."    He  who  had 
read  so  widely,  and  had  contributed  so  many  immortal 
pages  to  literature,  gives  this  testimony  to  the  value  of 
the  Bible.     Mr.  Dickens  was  in  the  habit  of  writing  a 
letter  to  ea^li  of  his  sons  as  he  left  the  parental  roof.    In 
one  he  urged  his  son,  whatever  other  books  he  neglected, 
to  read  the  Bible,  as  it  contained  the  purest  morality 
and  the  best  rules  of  life  known  to  the  world.     When 
Milton  would  become  *'  a  jDoet,  soaring  in  the  high  rea- 
son of  his  fancies,  with  his  garland  and  singing  robes 
about  him,"  he  must  go  to  the  Bible  for  his  highest 
theme.     The  music  of  "  Siloa's  brook  that  flowed  fast 
by  the  oracle  of  God,"  gives  its  charm  to  his  lofty  verse. 
When  Raphael  would  perpetuate  his  name  to  imborn 
generations  he  must  ascend  "  the  holy  mount,"  stand  in 
the  supernal  glory,  and  gaze  on  the  transfigured  Ciirist. 
As  the  "  Transfiguration"  was  his  greatest,  so  it  was  his 
last  work.     He  died  in  early  manhood,  with  the  **  Trans- 
figuration" en  his  heart  and  brain.     That  picture  was 
carried   with   hiui   to   his  grave  at  his  burial.     When 
Handel  was  discouraged  by  attempting  to  give  opera  in 
a  foreign  language,  he  accepted  an  invitation  from  sev- 
eral notables  of  Ireland  to  visit  Dublin.     From  a  friend 
he  received  a  text  from  the  Bible  on  which  he  composed 
his  immortal  work,  known  at  the  first  as  the  "  Sacred 
Oratorio,"  known  now  as   the   **  Messiah."     Both   in 
Dublin  and  in  London  this  work  gave  him  immediate 


VICTOIIIOUS   YOUNG    MEN. 


123 


fame ;  it  has  since  crowned  him  throup^hout  the  world 
with  unfading  glory.  The  debt  wliich  music,  painting, 
sculpture  and  literature  owe  to  the  Bible  cannot  be  fully 
estimated.  »  It  is  said  that  the  Red  Cross  Knight  in 
Spenser's  *  *  Faerie  Queene  "is  but  Paul's  armed  Christian 
in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  ; 
that  Pope's  "  Messiah"  is  but  a  paraphrase  of  prophetic 
and  seraphic  passages  in  Isaiah  ;  that  tlie  noblest  strains 
in  Cowper's  ^'Task  "  draw  their  inspiration  and  part  of 
their  imagery  from  the  same  rapt  prophet ;  that  the 
* '  Thanatopsis  "  of  Bryant  is  but  the  expansion  of  a  pas- 
sage in  Job  ;  that  Wordsworth's  **  Ode  on  Immortality" 
could  never  have  been  written  but  for  Paul's  tifteenth 
chapter  of  First  Corinthians  and  the  eighth  chapter  of 
Romans  ;  that  Shakespeare's  conception  of  woman,  of  a 
Desdemona,  of  an  Ophelia,  would  have  been  impossible 
had  not  his  mind  been  permeated  by  a  Bible,  a  Christian 
ideal.  This  suggestive  thought  could  be  much  ex- 
panded ;  these  instructive  illustrations  might  be  greatly 
multiplied.  The  Bible  gave  all  these  men — working  in 
different  departments  of  genius  —their  inspiration.  Shall 
we  be  so  inconsistent  as  to  rejoice  in  the  streams  while 
we  despise  the  fountain  whence  they  flowed  ? 

In  a  still  higher  sphere  the  indwelling  of  God's  Word 
is  an  absolute  necessity.  By  its  presence  and  power 
Christ  triumphed  in  the  wilderness.  Satan  said  :  ^'  Com- 
mand that  these  stones  be  made  bread."  "  Exert  Thy 
power  and  prove  Thy  Sonship."  How  does  Christ 
reply  ?  Will  He  by  an  act  of  divine  power  blast  the 
tempter  ?  Had  He  done  so  His  example  would  be  lost 
to  us.  He  answers,  *'  It  is  written,  Man  shall  not  live 
by  bread  alone."  Satan  takes  his  cue  for  the  next  temp- 
tation from  this  reply.  He  sees  that  Jesus  has  implicit 
faith  in  God.    He  will  test  that  faith.     ''  Cast  Thyself 


\\i'- 


I 


■I 


I'     I 


124 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRL'CIFIED. 


down  from  this  pinnacle.  Sliow  to  all  the  people  what 
faith  you  have  in  God."  Our  Lord  again  replies  :  **  It 
is  written,  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God."  It 
is  right  to  trust  God  ;  it  is  wicked  to  tempt  God.  De- 
feated twice,  the  tempter  tries  again  :  **  Bow  down  and 
worship  me."  Christ's  answer  comes,  '*  Thou  shalt 
worship  the  Lord  tliy  God,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou 
serve."  Christ  uses  but  one  weapon — **  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit,  which  is  the  "Word  of  God."  Houses  no 
weapon  which  we  may  not  use  ;  He  wins  no  victory 
which  we  may  not  win.  Our  temptations  are  in  their 
essential  elements  similar  to  His  ;  our  triumphs  may  be 
like  His.  The  Word  of  God  is  not,  however,  a  magical 
charm,  by  pronouncing  which  we  may  be  safe.  It  must 
have  the  consent  of  our  will  and  be  a  part  of  ourselves. 
"We  must  have  the  supple  wrist  to  use  this  sword.  "Wo 
must  have  the  appropriate  passage  ready  for  immediate 
service.  Young  men,  if  you  would  strike  down  your 
spiritual  enemies,  learn  to  use  this  defensive  weapon. 
Let  the  Word  of  God  abide  in  you  richly. 

THIRD  CIIARACTEEISTIO. 

The  third  characteristic  of  these  young  men  is  that 
they  had  *'  overcome  the  wicked  one."  "Was  there  ever 
a  prouder  eulogy  pronounced  on  any  heroes  ?  "Ye 
have  overcome  the  wicked  one."  Let  that  commenda- 
tion ring  through  the  world  forever.  Let  the  zephyrs 
wliisper  it,  let  the  hurricanes  thunder  it.  Hear  it,  young 
men,  struggling  with  inward  weakness  and  outward 
trials.  Hear  it,  you  who  are  tasting  sin  and  are  charmed 
by  it.  Hear  it,  you  who  are  sceptical,  who  sneer  at 
virtue  as  if  it  were  impossible,  and  who  laugh  at  vice  as 
if  it  were  universal.  Once,  thanks  be  to  God,  there  was 
a  body  of  young  men  who  had  **  overcome  the  wicked 


VICTORIOUS   YOUNG   MEX. 


125 


one"  within  and  without  them.  Put  alongside  of  this 
the  conquests  of  Alexander,  compare  with  it  the  victories 
of  CsBsar,  read  in  its  light  the  triumphs  of  Napoleon. 
Alexander  conquered  nations  ;  he  could  not  conquer  the 
passions  of  his  own  heart ;  he  died  the  victim  of  his  lust. 
Csesar  and  Napoleon  were  vanquished  while  they  were 
victors.  *^  Ye  have  overcome  the  wicked  one/ '  Amaz- 
ing fact  I  Satan  robbed  heaven  of  angels  ;  he  entered 
paradise,  and  overthrew  a  sinless  pair ;  he  brought  sin 
into  our  fair  world,  filling  it  with  tears,  mourners,  graves, 
and  death.  And  yet  here  are  young  men  who  have  over- 
come him — men  of  like  passions  with  you  and  me — men 
who  fought  as  we  may  fight,  and  conquered  as  we  may 
conquer.  This  is  a  glorious  statement.  Thank  God 
that  it  was  ever  written.  I  fling  it  out  to  all  who  are 
faint-hearted.  I  would  write  it  on  the  banners  of  every 
church,  and  on  the  heart  of  every  disciple  in  the  world. 
Does  the  battle  grow  fierce  ?  Are  the  darts  of  the  enemy 
numerous  and  fiery  ?  Are  you  faint  and  ready  to  give 
up  ?  Above  the  din  of  conflict  come  the  words  of  Christ, 
**  Be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world.'"'  And 
from  another  part  of  the  field  come  the  words  of  John, 
**  Ye  have  overcome  the  wicked  one."  Oh,  heart- 
inspiring  words  !  Young  men,  you,  too,  may  ^*  come 
off  more  than  conquerors."  Thanks  be  to  God  for  His 
matchless  grace  ;  sinful  men  may  stand  where  sinless 
angels  fell ! 

THE   apostle's    SOLICITUDE. 

John  was  solicitous  regarding  the  young  men.  In 
this  anxiety  he  acted  wisely.  In  comparative  youth 
many  have  achieved  greatness.  If  men  do  not  show 
signs  of  power  before  they  are  thirty  the  chances  are 
that  they  never  will ;  there  are  illustrious  exceptions,  we 


126 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


.1H^ 


I 


know,  but  they  simply  prove  the  rule.  At  eighteen 
Alexander  the  Great  won  distinction  in  battle,  and  at 
twenty  he  ruled  the  world  ;  when  but  thirty-three  Jeffer- 
son was  chosen  to  draught  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence ;  wheL  but  twenty-seven  Calvin  wrote  his  immortal 
**  Institutes,''  which  have  so  largely  shaped  the  theological 
thinking  of  the  world  ;  at  twenty-seven  Napoleon  **  ex- 
ecuted that  grand  campaign  in  Italy  which  stamped  him 
the  foremost  captain"  of  the  world,  and  which  hurled 
the  stricken  Austrians  back  to  their  endangered  capital ; 
when  scarcely  out  of  his  teens  Spurgeon  was  filling  the 
world  with  his  fame  ;  while  still  young,  John  the  Bap- 
tist and  the  apostles  of  Jesus  achieved  glorious  results  for 
God  and  man.  And  it  was  as  a  young  man  that  Christ 
lived  and  labored  for  a  lost  world  ;  it  was  the  life-blood 
of  a  young  man  which  He  poured  out  on  the  cross  for 
the  world's  salvation.  In  the  vigor,  freshness,  and 
bloom  of  young  manhood,  He  lived,  died,  and  rose 
again.  Had  He  lived  to  be  old  and  feeble  the  effect,  to 
human  view,  would  be  disastrous.  And  as  a  young  man, 
the  God-man,  He  sits  on  His  mediatorial  throne  to  plead 
for  young  men  who  will  accept  His  proffered  love.  We 
know,  too,  that  from  our  young  men  must  come  the 
workers  in  all  departments  of  toil.  From  among  them 
are  to  come  our  merchants,  who  are  to  honor  or  disgrace 
the  name  Aruerican  at  home  and  abroad  ;  from  them 
must  come  those  who  as  physicians  are  to  stand  by  us 
and  those  we  love  in  sickness  and  death.  From  them 
are  to  come  those  who  are  to  vindicate  the  right  or  wink 
at  wrong  in  our  courts  of  law.  From  them  are  to  come 
those  who  stand  between  God  and  men  as  preachers  of 
the  Word.  Shall  our  ministers  be  men  of  God  ?  Shall  ^ 
our  doctors  be  lovers  of  Christ  ?  These  are  questions  of 
the  greatest  moment.     Yoimg  men  must  be  leaders  in   ^, 


VICTORIOUS   YOUNG   MEN. 


127 


all  progress*  ve  movements  of  reform.  The  world  is  ad- 
vancing. We  ought  to  be  more  and  better  than  our 
fathers  were.  We  ought  to  start  where  they  stopped. 
In  some  respects  progress  in  religion  is  impossible.  We 
can  have  no  new  gospel.  What  is  new  is  not  true  in 
this  regard,  and  what  is  true  is  not  new.  But  there  may 
be  progress  in  the  discovery  and  application  of  these 
truths.  In  intellectual  work  and  in  business  we  always 
adapt  our  methods  to  our  circumstances.  Precisely  so 
should  it  be  in  religion.  Progress  in  religious  work  is 
just  the  adapting  of  our  methods  to  our  circumstances. 
It  is  just  common  sense,  sanctified  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
From  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  young  men  must  lead 
in  making  tlies*^  adaptations.  And  no  church  can  be  in 
the  largest  sense  successful  which  has  not  in  it  a  body  of 
active,  consecrated  young  men.  Do  not  suppose  that  I 
disparage  one  class  to  exalt  another.  Each  has  its  place 
and  work.  The  cause  of  Christ  needs  young  men  for 
action  and  old  men  for  counsel.  Neither  ought  to  come 
in  conflict  with  the  other.  Thank  God  for  both.  While 
my  heart  is  stirred  with  tenderness  and  sympathy  as 
young  men  pray,  the  prayers  of  these  veterans  lift  me 
up  to  the  very  throne  of  God.  Many  of  you,  old  men, 
bear  in  your  bodies  the  scars  of  the  Christian  conflict. 
We  bless  God  for  the  enthusiasm  of  youth,  and  not  less 
for  the  wisdom  and  experience  of  age. 

Dear  young  people,  let  me  urge  you  to  come  as  lost 
and  helpless  sinners  to  the  cross  of  Christ.  Here  is  the 
true  starting-point  of  noble  lives.  It  is  sad  to  see  young 
men  and  women  assuming  the  duties  and  responsibilities 
of  life,  of  husbands  and  wives  and  parents  without  God 
and  without  hope.  It  makes  the  heart  weep  to  see  them 
live  as  if  there  were  no  God  ;  to  sit  at  tables  on  which 
God's  blessing  has  not  been  asked  ;  to  sleep  and  wake, 


k 


.i;: 


I  'i 


128 


CHRIST,   AND  HIM   CRUCIFIED, 


and  never  lift  the  heart  to  God  in  gratitude  or  want.  If 
there  is  a  sight  that  might  ni.ke  angels  weep,  it  is  a 
prajerless  mother.  Young  people,  to-day  thousands  the 
world  over  are  praying  for  you.  Pray  for  yourselves. 
Come  now  to  Christ.  Accept  the  offers  of  His  love. 
Stand  with  me  beneath  the  shadow  of  that  cross,  which 
is  at  once  the  symbol  of  God's  great  love  and  man's 
great  sin.  See  the  flowing  blood,  hear  the  dying  cry. 
Your  debt  is  paid.  Your  soul  may  bo  saved.  Believe 
and  live.  Let  your  weakness  lay  hold  of  the  strength  of 
the  Almighty  Christ.  Then  shall  you  be  **  strong ;" 
then  shall  He  who  is  the  **  Word  of  God  "  abide  in  you  ; 
then  shall  you  **  overcome  the  wicked  one."  And  then, 
at  the  last,  in  the  flush  of  triumph  and  the  glory  of  the 
resurrection  morning,  we  shall  together  sing,  with  deep 
humility  and  unspeakable  joy,  **  Thanks  be  unto  God, 
which  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 


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X.      ' 

A  COMPREHENSIVE  PRAYER. 

**  Unite  my  heart  to  fear  Thy  name."— Psa.  86  :  11. 

This  is  a  short  but  comprehensive  prayer.  Uttered 
a  long  time  ago,  it  is  appropriate  still.  Beautiful  in 
thought,  it  is  also  poetic  in  form.  Like  a  strain  of  sweet 
music  it  has  lingered  for  years  in  my  mind.  It  has  often 
moulded  my  thinking  and  controlled  my  living. 

Let  us  look,  in  the  first  place,  at  the  meaning  of  this  pray- 
er, "  Unite  my  heart  to  fear  Thy  name."  Careless  read- 
ers may  fail  to  catch  its  significance.  There  is  here  a  rec- 
ognition of  the  truth  that  men  ought  to  love  God  with  all 
the  heart,  mind,  and  strength  ;  and  also  a  recognition  of 
the  sad  fact  that  men  do  not  so  love  God.  The  idea  is 
that  our  hearts  are  distracted,  that  our  affections  are  set 
upon  various  objects  ;  and  the  prayer  is  that  they  may 
all  be  gathered  in,  and  united  in  loving  and  fearing  God. 
The  Apostle  James  tells  us  that  **  a  double-minded  man 
is  unstable  in  all  his  ways."  By  double-minded  he 
means,  as  the  Greek  shows,  a  man  who  has  two  souls, 
two  wills,  two  hearts — one  for  God  and  one  for  the  world. 
In  the  twelfth  Psalm,  second  verse,  we  have  the  lan- 
guage '*  with  a  double  heart  do  they  speak."  The  lit- 
eral rendering  of  the  Hebrew  is  *^  with  a  heart  and  a 
heart,"  as  in  another  place  we  have  **a  stone  and  a 
flton^,"  meaning  divers  weights  ;  one  to  buy  with  and 
another  to  sell  with.  So  this  *'  heart  and  a  heart"  pro- 
duce inconsistency  and  hypocrisy.     With  one  heart,  the 


"fe,*-^ 


■ 


h' 


130 


CIIUIST,    AND   II I M   CU  LCI  PI  ED. 


Psalmist  teaches  us,  the  flatterer  gives  expression  to  the 
words  ho  uses  of"  liis  ncighhor  ;  with  the  other  h(;  vnrc- 
fiilly  and  w-icl<c(lly  coiureals  his  triio  dusigiiH.  Such  a 
man  is  unworthy  of  our  confidenco  iind  love.  In  Firtit 
Chronicles  wo  read  of  "  iifty  thousand  men  who  could 
keep  rank  ;  they  wore  not  of  douhle  heart."  The  last 
phrase  literally  rendered  is,  "  Who  M'ere  not  of  a  heart 
and  a  heart."  They  had  but  one  purpose — the  triu!nph 
of  their  own  arms  and  the  lionor  of  their  king.  Tho 
man  with  "  a  heart  and  a  heart''  will  be  found  striving 
to  serve  God  and  mammon.  Sueh  service  is  impossible. 
The  heart  was  made  by  God  and  for  Ilim.  Although  an 
instrument  of  many  strings,  all  are  intended  to  blend  in 
a  song  of  praise  to  the  great  Creator.  As  an  leolian  harp 
gives  forth  melody  when  tho  wind  passes  through  it,  so 
the  heart  should  breathe  out  its  responses  of  love  and 
obedience  when  Ihe  breath  of  God  comes  to  it  in  entreaty 
or  command.  But  the  sad  truth  must  bo  acknowledged 
— the  heart  is  out  of  tune.  An  unskilful  or  malicious 
player  has  dared  to  interfere  with  God's  instrument. 
Some  of  its  cords  are  drawn  too  tightly  ;  some  are  slack- 
ened unduly  ;  some  are  broken  entirely.  Instead  of  har- 
mony wo  have  discord  ;  instead  of  praise  we  have  tho 
wild  notes  of  revelry.  Eden  has  given  place  to  Babel ; 
and,  if  no  counteracting  law  ccmes  in  to  check  the  down- 
ward tendencies  of  the  natural  heart,  Babel  will  become 
hell. 

Now,  if  by  the  strings  of  this  instrument  we  under- 
stand the  faculties  of  the  soul,  the  idea  of  the  text  will 
appear  plain.  By  these  faculties  we  mean  memory, 
reason,  taste,  imagination,  conscience,  and  others.  Let 
any  unconverted  man  examine  these  faculties,  and  he 
will  at  once  understand  the  meaning  and  necessity  of  the 
words,  *'  Unite  my  heart  to  fear  Thy  name."    How  is  it 


A   COMPREHEICSIVE    PRAYER. 


181 


with  memory  f  Do  you  profop  to  remember  those  truths 
wliich  would  lead  you  to  lovo  and  obey  God  ?  or  do  you 
not  reuieinber  the  vile  oath,  the  impure  thought,  and  the 
deviliflh  puggestion  longer  than  the  sermon,  the  hymn, 
'  or  the  prayer  ?  Question  your  reason.  What  is  its  testi- 
mony ?  It  too  often  perverts  the  truth — making  the 
worse  appear  the  better  reason.  So  of  taste,  in  litera- 
ture, art,  and  religion.  Imagination  is  oftener  the  ser- 
vant of  evil  than  of  good.  The  imd  is  selected— the 
good  is  discarded.  Amid  these  perverted  faculties  con- 
science stands  like  a  moral  policeman.  It  is  true  that 
some  men  have  learned  the  secret  of  city  rogues  ;  they 
either  drug  or  fee  this  officer.  Then  their  hearts  may 
be  for  a  time  united  ;  but  it  is  a  union  with  death. 
There  may  for  a  little  time  be  peace  ;  but  it  is  the  peace 
of  the  grave.  There  may  be  a  compact ;,  but  it  is  a  league 
with  hell.  Ordinarily,  however,  conscience  remains  com- 
paratively free  from  the  alliances  of  the  devil. 

Armed  with  the  power  of  truth,  and  backed  by  the 
might  of  God,  conscience  lifts  its  warning  voice  and  sum- 
mons all  the  other  faculties  to  lay  down  their  weapons, 
cease  their  strife,  and  march  in  line  to  the  throne  of  the 
King,  seeking  His  gracious  pardon.  There  is  a  tremen- 
dous **  oughtness"  in  the  place  assigned  by  our  very 
moral  constitution  to  conscience.  To  change  the  figure. 
The  unrenewed  heart  is  a  house  divided  against  itself  ; 
Christ  said  such  a  house  could  not  stand.  Conscience  is 
the  only  pillar  left  standing,  and  it  shows  signs  of  w^eak- 
ness.  Now,  this  conflict  must  cease.  The  entire  man 
belongs  to  Jesus.  Rebellion  on  our  part  does  not  abro- 
gate His  claims.  Christ  should  sit  on  the  throne  of  the 
heart.  Conscience  thunders  YES.  Pride,  passion,  and 
lust  say  NO.  Such,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  is  the 
conflict  in  the  heart  of  every  unconverted  man.    Do  you 


132 


CHRIST,    JkND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


II    ll 


i 


|!     il\ 


feel  that  my  words  are  true  ?  Is  the  picture  a  genuine 
one  ?  Do  you  acknowledge  that  you  are  well-nigh  help- 
less in  this  warfare  ?  Then  lift  no\/  to  Christ  this  prayer, 
**  Unite  my  heart;"  take  this  long-divided  heart,  and 
make  it  Thine  ;  gather  up  my  scattered  affections,  and 
set  them  on  Christ  and  heavenly  things — "  Unite  my 
heart  to  fear  Thy  name."  Make  this  your  prayer,  and 
then  by  a  joyous  expedience  shall  you  know  the  meaning 
of  this  text. 

Secondly,  let  me  speak  of  the  reasons  for  offering  this 
prayer.  I  mention  three,  and  1  begin  with  the  lowest  ; 
a  proper  regard  for  our  own  happiness  would  lead  us  to 
offer  it.  You  may  charge  me  with  assigning  an  unwor- 
thy motive  for  the  performance  of  a  Christian  duty. 
You  may  say  that  duty  ought  to  be  performed  because  it 
is  duty,  because  it  is  right  in  and  of  itself.  True.  This, 
nevertheless,  is  a  proper  motive.  God  has  given  each  of 
us  the  instinct  of  self-love,  and  the  desire  to  seek  our 
own  happiness.  He  has  thus  through  our  organization 
revealed  His  will  in  this  respect ;  and  He  has  added  to 
that  revelation  by  all  the  truths  of  His  Word.  He  de- 
sires us  to  be  happy.  He  takes  no  pleasure  in  our  suffer- 
ings either  here  or  hereafter.  It  is  true  that  the  desire 
for  happiness  is  not  in  itself  a  high  motive.  Holiness  is 
better  than  happiness,  holiness  will  always  produce  hap- 
piness. But  God  takes  us  where  He  finds  us.  He  ap- 
plies the  motive  which  promises  the  desired  result ;  and 
then  He  lifts  us  to  a  higher  plane. 

Now  no  man  can  be  happy  while  his  desires  and  affec- 
tions are  at  war  with  one  another.  While  two  antagonistic 
powers  within  a  man  are  at  the  same  time  claiming  au- 
thority over  him,  he  must  be  essentially  miserable. 
V^hi»j  Bunyan  remained  in  the  City  of  Destruction, 
after  he  became  aware  that  it  was  such  a  city,  he  was 


A   COMPREHKNSIVE   I'KAYER. 


133 


t  • 


miserable  indeed.  Actual  imprisonment  of  the  body  in 
Bedford  Jail  were  better  far  tlian  this  awful  distraction 
and  enslavement  of  the  mind  and  soul.  When  God 
burned  into  the  heart  of  Carey  a  sense  of  his  duty  in 
preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen,  it  became  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  be  happy  until  he  did  that  duty.  Good, 
pious  conservatism  might  say  to  nim,  as  it  has  often  said 
since  to  the  zeal  and  enthusiasm  born  of  God  in  the 
hearts  of  young  men :  **  Young  man,  sit  down  ;  if  the 
Lord  wants  to  convert  the  heathen  He  will  do  it  without 
your  help."  But  Carey's  desire  was  as  fire  in  his  bones. 
He  must  go  ;  with  such  feelings  a  desire  for  his  own 
peace  and  happiness,  even  if  there  were  no  higher  mo- 
tive, would  compel  him  to  go.  It  is  always  true  that  in 
the  end  the  path  of  duty,  however  rough  it  may  seem, 
is  the  path  of  joy. 

There  is  a  young  man  preaching  the  Gospel  to-day 
who  once  felt  that  he  never  could  perform  that  duty. 
On  bended  knee  he  promised  the  Lord  that  he  would 
give  of  earthly  means  to  send  another  in  his  place.  His 
heart  was  not  united.  Conscience,  wrought  upon  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  said,  Go.  Desire,  ambition,  the  hopes  and 
dreams  of  all  his  previous  life  said.  No.  His  agony  was 
great ;  it  became  unendurable.  It  brought  him  to  his 
knees  in  deep  anguish.  He  nmst  yield  or  bid  adieu  to 
j<^y»  peace,  heaven.  He  did  yield,  and  he  has  found 
that  joy  in  Christ  is  inseparable  from  obedience  to  Christ. 
Could  I  describe  fully  the  feelings  of  some  of  you,  I 
should  have  a  too  true  illustration  of  the  statement  that 
a  desire  for  your  own  peace  should  lead  you  to  ofiPer  this 
prayer.  There  are  those  who  have  long  felt  that  they 
ought  to  be  Christians.  Sometimes  they  are  almost  de- 
cided to  yield  ;  at  other  times  they  almost  determine 
never  to  come  to  the  house  of  God,  never  to  talk  on  re- 


1 


134 


CHKIST,    AND   HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


ill 


'I 


ligion  ;  in  short,  to  give  up  tlie  whole  subject.  They 
are  supremely  miserable  — dibsatisfied  with  the  world,  but 
not  reconciled  to  God  through  Christ.  Now,  let  me  ap- 
peal for  once  to  your  self-love.  It  is  a  low  motive,  1 
know.  But  let  even  that  be  the  means  which  God  shall 
use  to  lead  you  to  give  yourselves  wholly  to  Him.  Give 
up  the  foolish,  the  wicked  contest.  Ground  your  arms. 
Touch  the  outstretched  sceptre  of  mercy.  Acquaint 
yourselves  now  with  God  and  be  forever  at  peace. 

I  speak  now  of  a  second  reason  for  offering  this  prayer 
— the  desire  to  be  not  only  happy  yourselves,  but  to 
make  others  so — the  desire  to  be  useful  in  Christ's  ser- 
vice. It  is  a  trite  remark  among  business  and  profes- 
sional men,  that  to  be  eminently  successful  in  any  pur- 
suit a  man's  heart  must  be  in  it.  A  half-hearted  man  is 
a  failure  anywhere  and  everywhere.  You  would  not 
give  much  for  a  3'oung  man  in  your  employ  who  had  no 
interest  in  j'^our  prosperity,  and  no  enthusiasm  in  his  pro- 
fession. If  you  expected  him  ever  to  accomplish  any- 
thing for  himself  and  ever  to  be  worth  anything  to  you, 
you  would  say  to  him  :  "  Young  man,  unite  your  heart 
in  my  work."  It  has  recently  been  discovered  that  the 
clerks  in  one  of  the  stock  exchanges  in  London  were 
carrying  on  among  themselves,  and  for  their  own  inter- 
ests, separate  transactions.  They  had  their  own  books, 
officers,  and  times  and  places  of  meeting.  It  is  said  that 
they  are  all  to  be  discharged.  They  were  half-hearted 
in  the  service  of  their  employer.  They  were  drawn 
hither  by  self-interest,  and  thither  by  the  interest  of 
their  employers.  Such  clerks  business  men  do  not  want 
in  their  service.  Neither  will  God  in  His  service  share 
the  heart  with  man  or  devil.  A  bank  president  was  con- 
gratulated on  his  success.  He  replied  that  his  secret  was 
in  taking  his  bank  to  bed  with  him.    We  all  understand 


A    COMPIIEHKNSIVE    PRAYER. 


135 


liis  meaning.  His  whole  heart  was  in  his  work.  He  was 
in  (lead  earnest.  Such  a  man,  in  business  or  religion,  will 
always  make  things  come  to  pass.  Wo  have  referred  to 
David's  army — the  fifty  thousand  who  were  not  of  a 
**  heart  and  a  heart."  This  is  a  proud  eulogy.  They 
were  animated  by  one  overmastering  purpose.  Each 
heart  was  single  ;  the  army  had  but  one  aim.  They  had 
not  one  heart  for  the  battle,  and  another  for  their  homes. 
They  had  no  personal  ends  to  serve.  They  believed  in 
God  ;  they  rejoiced  in  David  ;  they  were  determined  to 
cleave  for  him  a  way  to  the  throne.  This  unity  of  heart, 
this  oneness  of  purpose,  makes  fifty  thousand  men  more 
than  five  hundred  thousand  who  hesitate  and  waver. 

Let  love  of  hberty  unite  the  hearts  of  Englishmen. 
Put  the  invincible  Cromwell  at  their  head,  and  the  ends 
of  the  earth  shall  shake  under  their  mighty  tread.  Let 
love  of  glory  inflame  the  minds  and  unite  the  hearts  of 
France,  and  Napoleon  will  illumine  the  darkness  of  the 
night  with  the  fires  of  battle,  and  cloud  the  sun  at  noon- 
day with  the  smoke  of  conflict.  He  will  sweep  over 
Europe  like  a  fiend  of  destruction  from  the  pit.  His 
armies  were  but  a  great  engine  of  desolation.  Every 
heart  beat  in  his.  There  was  but  one  soul  in  all.  1 
might  stir  your  enthusiasm  by  enumerating  victories 
nearer  home,  and  naming  men  under  whose  inspiration 
eome  of  you  of  the  North  and  some  of  you  of  the  South, 
rushed  into  the  jaws  of  death,  and  won  victories  on  the 
gory  field.  In  grander  fields,  too,  oneness  of  aim  and 
singleness  of  purpose  have  triumphed.  Think  of  Paul. 
What  is  the  secret  of  his  life  on  the  human  side  ? 
**  This  one  thing  1  do."  He  was  a  man  of  one  idea— 
an  idea  so  broad  that  it  took  in  all  the  other  noble  ideas. 
Marvellous  man  !  His  shadow  is  projected  everywhere 
in  the  Roman  Empire.    He  dwarfs  the  missionaries  of 


I 


136 


CHUIST,    AND   HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


our  day.  His  gigantic  miiicl,  his  loving  heart,  and  his 
tireless  body  bowed  down  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  rose 
one  with  himself  and  one  with  Christ.  Why  need  1 
multiply  examples  ?  Range  over  all  history,  in  politics, 
literature,  science,  art,  and  religion,  and  the  secret  of 
success  in  all  is  that  men  put  their  whole  being,  heart, 
and  brains  into  their  work,  and  under  God  they  suc- 
ceeded. A  church  with  fifty  persons  in  it,  loyal  to  God 
and  true  to  the  souls  of  men,  working  with  one  heart 
and  soul,  and  led  on  by  a  noble  and  godly  pastor,  will  do 
more  for  God  and  men  than  five  hundred  average  church- 
members.  With  such  a  force  behind  him,  and  God 
above  him,  a  pastor  might  soon  take  this  great  city  for 
Christ.  Oh,  for  the  wisdom  of  the  heroic  Gideon  I  Let 
the  war-cry  again  go  out  as  at  the  battle  of  Jezreel,  by 
the  **  Spring  of  Trembling" — "  Whosoever  is  fearful 
and  afraid,  let  him  return  and  depart  early  from  Mount 
Gilead."  What  if  there  should  return  of  the  people 
''  twenty  and  two  thousand  ?"  Better  ten  thousand  with 
one  heart,  than  thirty-two  thousand  "  with  a  heart  and 
a  heart."  The  cowards  are  now  gone.  But  "  the  peo- 
ple are  yet  too  many."  Another  test  must  be  applied. 
The  self-indulgent  as  well  as  the  cowardly  must  be  re- 
moved. Those  who  rushed  headlong  to  quench  their 
thirst  are  therefore  rejected.  But  those  who  exercised 
self-restraint,  marching  to  battle  while  they  lapped  the 
water,  were  selected.  Poor  Gideon,  all  are  gone  but 
three  hundred  I  Happy  Gideon  !  For  the  Lord  said  : 
**  By  the  three  hundred  men  that  lapped  will  I  save  you, 
and  deliver  the  Midianites  into  thine  hand  ;  and  let  all 
the  other  people  go  every  man  ui^to  his  place. "  Awake 
ye  sleepers,  the  '^cake  of  barley  bread"  will  roll  into 
the  camp  and  hurl  the  royal  tent  to  the  earth.  He 
divides  his  men  ;  he  surrounds  the  camp  ;  thocry,  **  The 


A   COMPREHENSIVE   PRAYER. 


i:r 


Bword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon"  rends  the  midnight 
air.  The  blowing  of  the  horns,  the  crashing  of  the 
pitchers,  and  the  blazing  of  the  torches  break  upon  the 
stillness  of  the  night.  Midianite  drew  his  sword  against 
Midianite.  Headlong  they  rushed  down  the  descent  to 
the  Jordan.  Terrible  was  the  slaughter.  Glorious  was 
the  victory.  And  over  the  Jordan  went  Gideon  and  his 
brave  three  hundred,  **  faint,  yet  pursuing."  Three 
hundred  men  with  united  hearts  were  better  than  thirty- 
two  thousand  '*  with  a  heart  and  a  heart."  The  Church 
needs  the  lesson.  It  needs  to  be  weeded  to-day.  Her 
half-hearted,  lukewarm  disciples  are  dead  weights  in  her 
progress.  They  are  vampires  that  suck  her  life-blood 
while  they  lull  her  to  sleep  with  their  fanning  wing. 
Perhaps  we  need  again  the  fagot  and  the  flame  ;  the 
stake  and  the  rack.  Well  is  it  when  those  who  are  of 
"  a  heart  and  a  heart"  go  back  to  their  homes  that  the 
brave  may  win  for  truth  and  God. 

These  principles  apply  to  denominational  life.  Men 
who  are  half-hearted  in  holding'  the  distinctive  truth  of 
their  denomination  are  hindrances  to  its  progress.  The 
Episcopal  denomination  is  stronger  because  of  the  ab- 
sence of  the  party  that  went  out  with  Bishop  Cummings, 
than  they  could  possibly  be  with  their  presence.  As 
soon  as  that  party  was  not  of  them  just  so  soon  should 
they  go  out  ;from  them.  There  is  a  law  of  denomina- 
tional gravitation,  which  like  that  of  natural  gravitation 
must  be  obeyed,  or  the  most  injurious  consequences  will 
follow.  Honesty,  manliness,  godliness  requires  that 
when  we  cannot  harmonize  with  a  denomination  we 
should  leave  it.  The  events  of  the  last  few  weeks  in  our 
own  denomination  show  the  importance  of  this  law  of 
gravitation.  "And  being  let  go,  they  went  to  their 
own   company."     Those  who    are    true   will   remain. 


138 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CUUCIPIED. 


» 


■  ;;j 


They  Wjh  march  on  to  victory.  Perhaps  sometimes 
**  faint,"  but  always  **  pursuing,"  as  faithful  disciples  of 
a  greater  than  Gideon,  they  will  go  on  *'  conquering  and 
to  conquer." 

As  Christians  in  your  denominational  and  individual 
life,  you  will  be  happy  in  yourselves,  and  useful  to 
others,  in  proportion  as  you  daily  offer  this  prayer, 
*'  Unite  my  heart  to  fear  Thy  name."  Do  not  attempt 
to  serve  God  and  at  the  same  time  love  yourselves  su- 
premely. Do  not  attempt  to  cherish  the  Christian's  hope, 
while  you  refuse  to  render  the  Christian's  obedience. 
Do  not  strive  to  be  a  Christian  and  refuse  publicly  to 
confess  Christ  in  His  appointed  ordinance  of  baptism. 
Such  conduct  brings  leannesi  into  your  souls  and  dis- 
honor on  your  Saviour.  Be  true  to  yourselves  and  your 
God,  and  you  will  be  both  happy  and  useful.  Offering 
this  prayer  in  all  sincerity  you  will  soon  hear  the  *'  Peace 
be  with  you,"  of  Christ's  benediction,  and  the  "  Go 
preach  My  Gospel,"  of  Christ's  commission. 

The  last  reason  for  offering  this  prayer  is,  that  the  honor 
and  command  of  God  demand  that  we  give  Him  a 
united  heart.  These  tliree  reasons,  you  will  perceive,  are 
related.  The  last  includes  the  others  ;  for  if  we  give 
Christ  our  united  heart,  and  devote  to  Him  our  lives,  we 
shall  be  useful  to  others,  and,  being  useful  to  others,  we 
shall  be  liappy  in  ourselves.  God  made  us  to  love  Him 
alone  with  the  wUolo  heart.  The  command  so  to  love 
Him  is  a  summary  of  all  His  commands.  The  soil  of  the 
heart  was  made  to  bear  wheat  only  ;  it  was  the  hand  of  an 
enemy  that  sowed  tares.  The  heart  was  made  always  to 
pant  after  God,  and  to  find  its  joy  and  peace  only  when 
reposing  on  Pis  bosom.  In  order  that  we  may  have  joy 
in  ourselves,  be  useful  to  others,  and  be  loyal  to  Christ, 
we  must  have  a  united  heart  in  Christian  service.     Every 


i:'! 


A   COMPREHENSIVE   PKAYER. 


139 


■  u 


thought,  motion,  and  desire  should  be  in  subjection  to 
the  will  of  Christ.  Such  a  state  of  feeling  is  the  pledge 
and  foretaste  of  lieaven.  Every  storm  of  passion  is 
hushed,  and  the  whole  current  of  our  feeling  flows 
toward  God.  We  spe^k  of  heaven  as  a  place  of  music, 
because  music  is  our  highest  conception  of  harmony. 
In  proportion  as  this  divine  harmony  is  in  the  soul  now, 
in  that  proportion  is  heaven  in  the  soul  even  now. 
Christ  is  the  great  Reconciler  between  the  faculties  of 
the  soul  and  between  the  soul  and  God.  I  lift  before 
you  the  cross  of  Christ.  Will  you  now  * '  look  and  live  ?" 
Will  you  now  accept  Christ  as  your  only  hope  ?  "  Behold 
the  Lamb  of  God,"  and  looking  to  Him  find  life.  So 
lovely  and  loving  is  Jesus,  that  even  those  of  us  who  gave 
Him  our  hearts  in  the  morning  of  life  and  in  the  dew  of 
youth  can  say  in  the  simple,  tender,  and  emotive  utter- 
ance of  Augustine  :  *'  Too  late  I  love  Thee,  O  Thou 
Beauty  of  ancient  days,  yet  ever  new  ;  too  late  1  love 
Thee  !"  With  a  greater  than  Augustine  we  can  pray, 
"  Unite  my  heart  to  fear  Thy  name,"  and  with  l  greater 
than  David,  "Not  my  will  but  Thine  be  done." 


i 


Ml 


I     ^ 


i;i 


XL 
OUR  LORD'S  MYSTERIOUS  SORROW. 

"  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowrful,  even  unto  death." — Matt.  26  :  38. 

Our  objecit  this  morning  is  to  discuss  some  of  the  ele- 
ments of  our  Lord's  mysterious  sorrow  in  the  garden. 
The  subject  is  one  of  deep  solemnity  and  great  tender- 
ness. Not  at  all  times,  nor  in  all  frames  of  mind  and 
heart,  is  it  fitting  to  discuss  such  a  subject  as  this.  As 
Moses  removed  his  shoes  when  he  approached  the  holy 
ground  of  the  burning  bush,  so  should  we  strive  to  ban- 
ish all  unholy  thoughts  when  we  walk  beneath  the  olive 
trees  of  Gethsemane  and  gaze  on  the  cross  of  Calvary. 
The  history  of  the  race  is  one  of  sin  and  sorrow  ;  it  is 
also  one  of  grace  and  glory.  Three  wonderful  gardens 
are  there  in  that  history — Eden,  Gethsemane,  Paradise. 
Lost  in  Eden,  we  were  redeemed  in  Gethsemane,  and 
those  who  are  thus  redeemed  shall  be  glorified  in  Para- 
dise. The  first  is  a  history  of  sin  and  sorrow  on  our 
part ;  the  second  is  a  history  of  sorrow  without  sin  on 
Christ's  part ;  the  last  will  be  a  scene  of  neither  sin  nor 
sorrow.  We  look  with  shame  to  Eden,  with  sorrow  to 
Gethsemane,  and  with  humble,  holy  joy  to  Paradise. 
But  Gethsemane  we  nmst  visit  before  we  can  reach  Para- 
dise.    To  that  scene  of  sorrow  let  us  go  this  morning. 

We  go  out  of  the  eastern  gate  of  the  city  of  Jerusa- 
lem, down  a  steep  and  abrupt  hill,  across  the  bed,  over 
which,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  passes  the  dark- 
flowing  Kedron,  and  now  on  our  right  lies  the  Garden 


OCH   LOKb's   MYST£iaOL'S   SORROW. 


141 


s 


of  Gethsemane.  It  is  a  small  plot  of  ground,  nearly 
square,  and  now  surrounded  with  a  fence  of  rough  stone 
surmounted  with  stucco.  Within  the  enclosure  are  eight 
venerable  olive  trees.  Benoatli  the  shade  of  perhaps 
similar  trees  Christ  bowed  in  His  agony.  It  is  night  in 
Jerusalem.  The  lights  are  out.  The  streets  are  silent. 
The  pilgrims  are  in  their  tents  on  the  hill-side  asleep. 
The  moon  at  this  Passover  season  shines  brightly.  Christ 
and  eleven  of  His  disciples  pass  over  the  track  we  have 
described  and  enter  the  garden.  Eight  disciples  are  left 
near  the  entrance  ;  three — the  elect  within  the  elect,  the 
three  who  were  admitted  to  witness  the  miracle  of  rais- 
ing the  ruler's  daughter,  the  three  who  had  been  with 
Him  **  in  the  holy  mount,"  and  having  seen  the  glory 
of  the  transfiguration  were  prepared  for  the  humiliation 
of  the  garden — He  takes  with  Him  to  a  little  distance 
within  the  shade  of  the  garden.  And  now  the  wave  of 
His  mysterious  sorrow  rolls  over  Him.  Even  from 
these  He  withdraws  Himself  a  little  space.  He  prays  ; 
He  returns  ;  He  departs  to  pray  again  ;  He  returns  ; 
He  departs  ;  He  kneels ;  He  falls  prostrate ;  He  ago- 
nizes ;  great  drops  as  it  were  blood  fall  upon  the  ground. 
He  triumphs.  The  contest  is  over  ;  the  conquest  is 
won.  He  returns  in  calmness  to  His  sleeping  disciples 
and  awaits  in  perfect  peace  the  approach  of  Plis  be- 
trayer. This  great  sorrow  is  something  to  us  '*  who 
pass  by."  We  shall  **  Behold  and  see  if  there  be  any 
sorrow  like  unto  His  sorrow,  wherewith  the  Lord  afflicted 
Him  in  the  day  of  His  fierce  anger." 

This  is  a  mysterious  sorrow.  Some  of  its  elements, 
however,  we  can  understand.  Let  us  reverently  ex- 
amine these,  and  see  whether  they  will  explain  its  in- 
tensity and  bitterness.  If  not,  another  cause  will  be 
suggested.     The  ingratitude  of  those  for  whom  He  lived 


142 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CBUCIFIBD. 


;i     i 


if  *l  ' 


and  died  was  an  element  in  that  sorrow.  Christ  was 
keenly  alive  to  every  expression  of  ingratitude.  There 
are  many  hints  given  of  this  fact.  He  healed  ten  lepers. 
Kine  went  their  way  ;  one  returned  to  express  joy  and 
gratitude.  Christ  asks  sadly  after  the  nine  selfish  and 
ungrateful  ones.  He  said  mournfully  that  lie  came 
unto  His  own,  but  they  received  Him  not.  His  heart 
revealed  its  deep  loneliness  when  He  compared  Himself 
with  the  foxes  who  had  holes,  and  the  birds  who  had 
nests,  while  He  had  not  where  to  lay  His  head.  Earth, 
cursed  by  sin,  had  no  resting-place  for  its  Maker  and  Lord. 
When  it  would  exalt  Him  it  did  so  by  a  cross  ;  when  it 
would  crown  Him  it  did  so  with  thorns.  How  a  child's 
ingratitude  breaks  a  parent's  heart  !  How  the  ingrati- 
tude of  the  poor  dries  up  the  fountains  of  love  in  the 
hearts  of  the  benevolent  rich  1  Christ  was  subject  to  a 
similar  law.  His  nation's  ingratitude  and  hate  were  a 
heavy  sorrow.  His  own  family  even  did  not  believe  in 
Him.  The  people  who  shouted  **  Hosanna"  one  day, 
shouted  ''  Crucify"  the  next.  Is  it  not  also  true  that  the 
ingratitude  of  all  rejecters,  in  every  age,  was  present  to 
His  mind  ?  If  so,  then,  friends,  our  hardness  of  heart, 
our  unbelief,  our  disobedience,  was  an  element  in  Christ's 
sorrow.  You  unconverted  children  of  godly  parents, 
hearers  but  not  doers  of  the  "Word,  you  rolled  a  wave  of 
sorrow  over  Christ's  soul.  Oh  look  to-day  into  that  gar- 
den where  Jesus  groans  and  prays  for  you  I  See  His 
tear-stained  face  !  Hear  His  agonizing  moan  I  Then  let 
your  heart  break  and  your  stubborn  will  relent.  Oh 
friends  unreconciled  to  God,  your  ingratitude,  your 
procrastination  and  disobedience  are  wicked  and  cruel  I 
Cease  now,  1  pray  you,  this  weak  and  wicked  rebellion. 
I  would  win  you  to  Christ  now-^now  while  we  gaze  oil 
Him  in  the  garden. 


ouu  lokd'8  mysteuiols  bomtow. 


143 


The  treachery,  denial,  and  desertion  on  the  part  of 
His  friends  made  another  eleinent  in  tliat  nameless  sor- 
row. While,  as  wo  shall  see  before  we  elose,  this  sor- 
row was,  in  sonio  of  its  elements,  fur  above  human 
thought,  in  other  elements  it  wns  intensely  linman.  It 
was  sad  enough  to  Clirist  that  of  all  that  Viist  host  tliat 
welcomed  Ilim  on  Sunday  there  should  not  be  one  on 
Friday  to  utter  a  word  in  His  belialf.  It  was  sad  enough 
that  of  all  the  thousands  whom  ho  hnd  cured,  fed,  and 
blessed  in  so  many  ways,  not  one  would  stand  by  Ilim 
in  Pilate's  hall.  There  was  but  one  who  spoke  a  word 
in  His  defence,  and  that  one  did  not  belong  to  the  chosen 
people — the  wife  of  the  heathen  Pilate.  But  saddest  of 
all,  in  the  chosen  twelve  one  was  a  betrayer,  one  a  de- 
nier, and  all  were  deserters.  '*  They  all  forsook  Him 
and  fled."  Oh,  base  ingratitude  !  Oh,  shameful  cow- 
ardice !  But  shall  I  speak  harshly  of  them  and  not  also 
justly  of  ourselves  'i  Their  minds  were  distracted  witli 
many  doubts  which  now  are  cleared  away.  They  groped 
in  the  dawn  ;  we  walk  in  the  noon-day.  Their  sin  was 
great  ;  ours  is  greater.  Many  times  since  then  has 
Christ  been  denied,  deserted,  betrayed,  by  His  professed 
friends.  In  social  life,  in  the  marts  of  trade,  in  the  halls 
of  sinful  anuisement,  Jesus  has  been  despised  and  re- 
jected. And  all  this  He  foresaw.  That  wicked  act  of 
yours  last  week  was  a  pang  in  Christ's  heart.  That 
absence  from  the  house  of  God  ;  that  neglect  of  family  or 
secret  prayer — oh,  these  were  part  of  Christ's  great  sorrow 
on  that  terrible  night !  Shall  we  continue  in  sin  ?  Can 
we,  dare  we,  love  and  practice  that  which  slew  our  Lord  ? 

The  sorrows  to  which  His  people  would  be  exposed 
were  an  element  in  that  grief.  The  joys  and  sorrows  of 
His  people  Christ  made  His  own.  On  this  Thursday 
night  Ho  realized — perhaps  even  more  than  He  did  on 


144 


CHKI8T,    AND   HIM   CKUCIFIED. 


1 


(I 


ii 


i    14 


ii  i 


tho  previous  Sunday,  when  IIo  wept  over  Jerusalem — 
what  the  Jewish  nation  incurred  by  His  rejection.  He 
saw  tliat  Jerusalem,  tho  city  of  song  and  story,  would 
soon  be  destroyed,  lie  saw  that  Ciod's  chosen  people 
would  soon  be  scattered  over  the  earth.  All  the  horrors 
of  the  awful  siege  of  Jerusalem  were  present  to  His 
view.  Koman  horses  were  to  bathe  their  fetlocks  in 
Jewish  blood.  Parents  in  the  pangs  of  hunger  were  to 
destroy  their  own  children.  They  would  have  no  king 
but  Caesar.  God  gave  them  their  wish,  and  Caesar 
crushed  them  to  the  earth.  Scattered  over  tho  world, 
despised  and  hated  of  all  men,  the  Jews  were  to  see  their 
land  trodden  by  the  foot  of  the  heathen  Koman  and  the 
infidel  Turk.  Their  prayer  was  answered.  The  blood 
of  Christ  was  upon  them,  not  to  save  but  to*  destroy. 
Now,  to  Jesus  as  a  man,  a  patriot,  and  a  Saviour,  tlir 
blindness  and  madness  of  His  people  became  a  cause  c 
intense  and  bitter  grief.  He  saw,  too,  the  sorrows  which 
were  to  come  on  Christian  believers.  Those  of  His 
nation  who  accepted  Him — as  well  as  those  who  rejected 
Him,  though  in  different  ways— v^ere  to  suffer  sorrow. 
Of  all  the  disciples  with  Him  in  the  garden,  John  was 
the  only  one  who  was  to  die  a  natural  death.  James 
first  was  to  seal  his  testimony  with  his  life.  Peter,  like 
his  Lord,  was  to  be  crucified.  The  disciples  who  after- 
ward believed  on  His  name  were  to  suffer  persecution. 
Stephen,  from  the  fast -falling  shower  of  stones,  was  to 
go  up  to  Christ  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  Paul  was 
present  to  Christ's  view — Paul  "  fighting  with  beasts  at 
Ephesus,"  '^shamefully  entreated  at  Philippi,"  cruelly 
imprisoned  and  beheaded  at  Rome.  Huss,  Luther,  Bun- 
yan,  thousands  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,  suf- 
fering for  their  Lord — these  were  in  Christ's  thoughts — 
these  added  to  Christ's  grief. 


OUK  lord's   MYdTERIOL'8  80RUOW. 


145 


There  was  alfio  a  shrinking  from  the  painful  and  ehame- 
ful  deiilh  of  the  cross.  Let  us  not  hcpitato  to  say  so. 
Christ  was  truly  a  nir.n.  True  manhood  is  not  indiffer- 
ent  to  danger  and  sutfering.  Coarse  and  brutal  natures 
may  ^sume  a  stoicism  which  refined  and  cultivated  na- 
tures cannot  manifest.  Dr.  Parker,  in  **  Ecce  Deus," 
finely  illustrates  this  thought.  *'  Suffering,"  he  snys, 
**  is  a  question  of  nature.  The  educated  man  suffers 
more  than  the  uneducated  ;  the  poet  probably  suffers 
more  than  the  mathematician  ;  the  commanding  officer 
suffers  more  in  a  defeat  than  the  common  soldier.  The 
more  life,  the  more  suffering,  the  billows  of  sorrow  being 
in  proportion  to  the  volume  of  our  manhood.  Now, 
tTesus  Christ  was  not  merely  a  man  ;  He  was  man  ;  and 
by  the  very  compass  of  TTis  manhood  He  suffered  more 
than  any  mortal  can  endure.  The  storm  may  pass  as 
Hiercely  over  the  shallow  lake  as  over  the  Atlantic,  but 
by  its  very  volume  the  latter  is  more  terribly  shaken." 
Christ's  physical  organization  even,  was,  doubtless,  ex- 
quisitely sensitive.  Then  there  were  the  moral  issues 
involved.  Perhaps  it  is  true,  as  has  been  claimed,  that 
Christ  died  of  a  literally  broken  heart.  lie  certainly 
keenly  felt  the  pain  and  disgrace  of  His  ignominious 
death.  To  assume  even  for  a  time  the  character  of  a 
felon  is  to  a  holy  soul  painful  in  the  extreme.  Actors 
of  high  reputation  find  it  opposed  to  their  taste  to  repre- 
sent a  character  famous  only  for  vileness.  Christ's  shrink- 
ing was  natural  and  proper.  It  is  a  mark  of  honor  and 
glory  befitting  the  God-man.  I  give  due  weight  to  all 
these  considerations.  But  I  affirm  that  they  do  not  of 
themselves  account  for  His  deep  and  awful  sorrow.  He 
must  have  known — He  foretold  it  many  times — that  He 
was  to  rise  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day.  The  grave 
could  not  hold  Him.    His  physical  sufferings  at  the  worst 


■•  t 


it 


'i    It 


146 


CKRIST,    AND   HIM    CRUCiriED. 


would  be  short.  The  victory  was  near.  It  was  to  ho  a 
brief  darkness  followed  by  a  never-ending  brightness. 
Who  can  believe  this  was  more  than  an  clement — and 
compared  with  other  elements  an  unimportant  one — in 
His  sorrow  ?  Martyrs  in  Christ's  name  and  for  His  sake 
have  gone  joyfully  to  the  stake.  They  have  shouted 
amid  fagots  and  flames.  They  have  gone  to  the  block 
singing  songs  of  triumph.  They  have  lain  in  prisons  of 
dampnecG  and  darkness  until  the  chains  rusted  into  their 
flesh.  Wives  and  mothers  have  torn  themselves  from 
husbands  and  children  to  die  for  Jesus.  We  have  read 
of  Leonidas  and  his  brave  three  hundred  who  stopped 
the  onward  march  of  the  Persians  at  Thermopylae,  giv- 
ing their  lives  joyfully  for  their  country.  We  know  of 
England's  lovely  queen  who  sucked  the  poison  frofn  the 
Avound  of  the  king,  her  consort,  though  she  knew  that 
death  would  be  the  result  of  her  heroism.  Again  and 
again  have  brave  soldiers  rushed  in  to  take  the  death- 
blows intended  for  their  commanders.  The  pages  of 
history  contain  the  names  of  many  such.  Much  more 
has  willingness  to  suffer  for  Christ  been  seen.  What 
glorious  names  come  to  us  as  we  speak  !  There  are 
thousands  who  are  suffering  a  daily  martyrdom  for  His 
sake.  There  are  women  tied  to  drunken  and  godless 
husbands  and  sweetly  living  for  Christ,  dying  ?.  thousand 
deaths,  while  they  live  a  single  life.  Upheld  by  the 
blessed  hopes  of  the  Gospel,  they  never  utter  a  murmur. 
At  this  hour  there  are,  believe  it,  friends,  thousands  who 
would  gladly  lay  down  their  lives  for  the  Master,  rather 
than  deny  Him.  Think  you,  then,  that  simple  fear  of 
physical  death  could  have  so  burdened  and  crushed  the 
Son  of  God — the  Lord  of  life  and  glory  ?  A  thousand 
times  No.  There  was  that ;  there  was  far  more  than 
that. 


OUR   LOUI)*S    MYSTEFilOUS   SORROW. 


147 


Another  consideration  is  that  Satan  was  permitted  at 
this  time  to  tempt  Christ  with  peculiar  power.  Satan 
tempted  Jesus  in  the  wilderness  and  was  repulsed.  Ho 
left  Him  *'  for  a  season."  He  now  returned.  It  was 
the  last — the  death-struggle.  It  was  the  world's  crisis. 
The  old  conflict  is  to  be  settled  forever.  It  is  the  **  hour 
and  the  power  of  darkness."  In  one  garden  truth  was 
crushed  and  error  triumphed.  The  first  Adam  was  over- 
thrown, shall  the  second  Adam  ?  If  so  the  knell  of  hu- 
manity may  be  rung.  On  the  result  of  the  conflict  in 
this  garden  depends  the  possibility  of  entering  paradise. 
If  Satan  triuu)ph  now  God  is  no  more  God.  Hell  appre- 
ciates the  struggle.  Its  artillery  is  hurled  against  the 
bowed  sufferer.  What  an  hour  !  What  a  conflict  I 
Here  let  our  hearts  break  in  sympathy  with  our  broken- 
hearted Lord.  Oh  be  not  indifferent  when  for  you 
Christ  is  meeting  the  temptations  of  Satan  !  Christ  is 
wurding  off  eternal  death  and  hell.  Behold,  behold, 
Him  in  His  great  agony  !  Never  was  there  sorrow  like 
that  of  our  Jesus.  Never  was  there  victory  like  that  of 
our  Jesus.  Blessed  be  His  name  !  He  struck  the  sceptre 
from  the  hand,  and  the  crown  from  the  brow  of  Satan, 
and  won  a  glorious  and  eternal  victory  for  His  saints. 
He  led  captivity  captive  and  won  gifts  for  men. 

The  true  explanation  of  the  mysterious  Forrow  in  the 
garden  and  the  awful  agony  on  the  cross — as  seen  in  the 
(riesto  God  uttered  in  both  places — is  that  Cliiist,  the 
God-man,  the  divine  Substitute,  was  bearing  in  some 
way  the  iniquities  of  a  lost  world.  This  is  a  holy  of 
holies.  It  seems  almost  irreverent  to  judge  with  a  critic's 
coolness  these  awful  experiences.  But  such  is  the  teach- 
ing of  Scripture,  alike  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
"  He  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities."  **  The  Lord  hath 
laid  on  Hira  the  iniquity  of  us  all.''     *' It  pleased  the 


,1   ■"* :        ;  1 
!     •!       ... 


IB    m 


w 


i 


M 


-I  s 


s  * 


■  I         1  ■ 

■'■; 


I   1    1^ 

1 1  i:^ 


«'. 


148 


CHRIST,    A  XT)   HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


Lord  to  bruise  Him."  Oh,  no,  the  cup  could  not  pass 
from  Him  !  He  drained  it  to  the  very  dregs.  **  He  hath 
made  Him  to  be  sin  for  us  who  knew  no  sin."  He  was 
**  made  a  curse  for  ns."  **  Who  His  own  self  bare  our 
sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree."  He  consented  to 
have  our  sins  laid  upon  Him.  He  is  treated  as  the  trans- 
gressor. Oh  matchless  love  !  Oh  transcendent  and  sov- 
ereign grace  I  Blessed  doctrine  of  divine  substitution  I 
God  has  found  a  way  to  save  the  lost.  Heaven  is  opened 
to  the  vilest.  With  Paul  we  can  exclaim,  **  Oh  the 
depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge 
of  God  !"  Away  with  the  shallow  human  philosophy 
which,  by  ignoring  the  real  facts,  attempts  to  rob  this 
awful  and  blessed  truth  of  its  meaning.  Tell  us  not  that 
Christ  died  merely  as  a  martyr.  On  that  theory  explain 
the  facts  if  you  can.  A  true  philosophy  must  accept  all 
the  facts.  Answer,  Socinianiem.  Answer,  modern 
philosophy.  In  this  explanation  of  Christ's  sorrow  we 
believe  scriptural  prophecy,  historical  fact,  and  apostolic 
reasoning  all  beautifully  agree.  **Let  God  be  true" 
though  all  human  theories  be  false. 

There  is  a  practical  application  of  these  truths.  First, 
we  see  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin.  How  lost  was 
man  when  nothing  short  of  such  a  sacrifice  could  save 
him  !  Christ  cried  out  in  tears  and  agony  when  He  stood 
before  God  in  the  sinner's  place.  How  terrible  must  it 
be  for  a  sinner,  on  his  own  behalf,  to  attempt  to  stand 
before  God  !  Christ  sank  for  a  time  under  the  weight 
of  sins  not  His  own.  How  shall  w^e  meet  God  with  sins 
upon  us  which  are  our  own?  Second,  we  see  here,  as 
nowhere  else,  the  love  of  God  in  Christ.  Marvellous 
love  !  No  mind  can  conceive,  no  heart  can  feel,  no 
tongue  declare  its  greatness.  The  world  is  full  of  evi- 
dences of  God's  love,     ft  is  whispered  in  the  winds,  it 


ouB  lord's  mysterious  sorrow. 


149 


.55 


'irst, 
;  was 
save 
stood 
list  it 
stand 
76  i  gilt 
li  sins 
;re>  as 
ellons 
el,  no 
':  evi- 
ds,  it 


flashes  in  the  sunlight,  but  here  is  its  grandest  display. 
**  God  so  loved  the  world."  Third,  the  duty  of  imme- 
diate submission  to  Christ  is  manifest.  It  is  folly  in  the 
extreme  to  refuse  the  great  salvation,  and  dare  the  wrath 
of  a  holy  and  just  God.  Men  and  women,  in  God's 
name  I  admonish  you  to-day,  come  and  give  yourselves 
to  this  great  Saviour. 

Turn  now  from  the  cold  ground  beneath  the  olive's 
shade,  where,  on  that  Thursday  night  Jesus  began  to 
give  the  ransom  for  your  soul.  Look  to  that  cross  on 
which  on  Friday  He  completed  the  purchase  price.  See 
Ilim  bowing  His  head  in  death.  Hear  His  triumphant 
cry,  "  It  is  finished  ! "  That  cross  is  at  once  the  world's 
hope  and  the  world's  condemnation.  It  is  at  once  the 
proof  of  God's  great  love  and  man's  great  sin.  I  lift  it 
before  you.  Stop,  travellers  to  eternity,  it  is  something 
to  you  that  Jesus  dies  !  Is  there  any  sorrow  like  Christ' s  ? 
But  I  ask  no  maudlin  sympathy  and  sentimental  pity  for 
Jesus.  It  is  not  for  Him  but  for  you  that  I  plead. 
Look  from  the  garden  of  agony  and  the  cross  of  shame 
to  the  throne  of  ^lory  on  which  now  He  sits.  Cast  your- 
selves as  helpless  sinners  at  His  feet,  exclaiming,  with 
adoring  Thomas,  *' My  Lord  and  my  God,"  and  then 
shall  you  be  able  joyously  to  say,  **  Therefore,  being 
justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God,  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ." 


.; 


XII. 
THE  PROMISE  OF  THE  COMFORTER. 

And  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give  yon  another  Com- 
forter, that  He  may  abide  with  you  forever." — John  14  :  16. 

Some  of  you  are  aware  that  the  exposition  of  these 
last  discourses  of  our  Lord  has  occupied  our  attention 
on  Sunday  mornings  during  the  entire  summer.  Con- 
tinuing this  series  of  sermons  we  have  reached  this  morn- 
ing the  verse  now  read  as  the  text.  This  verse  opens 
for  us  the  great  and  precious  promises  which  abound  in 
this  part  of  our  Lord's  discourse.  It  was  sad  enough 
for  the  disciples  that  Jesus  must  leave  them  ;  it  was 
sadder  still  that  He  must  leave  them  by  death.  It  was 
saddest  of  all  that  He  must  die  the  death  of  a  slave  and 
a  felon.  In  order  to  comfort  them  Christ  gave  them 
this  precious  promise  which  1  have  now  read,  the  prom- 
ise of  the  speedy  coming  of  the  divine  Paraclete — *'  And 
I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give  you  another 
Comforter,  that  He  may  abide  with  you  forever." 

1.  Notice,  at  the  outset,  that  the  blessing  promised 
was  to  come  in  connection  with  the  prayer  of  Jesus, 
^^  And  I  will  pray  the  Father^  and  He  shall  give  you 
another  Comforter."  We  are  not,  however,  to  suppose 
that  the  prayer  was  absolutely  necessary  to  the  coming 
of  the  Comforter.  The  Spirit  and  the  Father  were  as 
much  interested  in  the  work  of  the  Son  as  it  was  possi- 
ble for  the  Son  Himself  to  be.  When  we  speak  of  the 
prayers  of  Christ  we  must  remember  that  they  are  to  be 


THE    PROMISE   OF  THE   COMFORTEB. 


151 


broadly  distinguished  from  our  prayers.  We  make  con- 
fession of  sin  ;  we  invoke  divine  forgiveness.  There  is 
no  confession  of  sin  in  the  prayers  of  the  Son  of  God  ; 
no  invocation  of  pardon  is  anywhere  to  be  found  in  these 
k  petitions.  He  had  no  sin  to  confess  ;  He  needed  no 
forgiveness.  His  prayers  are  not  those  of  an  inferior  to 
a  superior,  not  the  prayers  of  a  suppliant  beseeching  for 
a  gratuity  ;  the^"  are  simply  the  declarations  of  His  sov- 
ereign will,  He  standing  on  the  platform  of  conscious 
equality  with  God  the  Father.  Any  other  conception 
of  Christ's  prayers  will  be  false  to  the  true  exegesis  of 
the  passages  in  which  they  are  mentioned,  and  false  also 
to  Christ's  character.  The  very  words  here  imply 
Christ's  conscious  equality,  familiarity,  and  perfect  in- 
timacy with  God.  His  prayer  is  simply  a  declaration  of 
His  sovereign  will  to  His  Father,  asking  for  that  which 
He  knows  the  Father  loves  to  bestow.  God  is  always 
represented  in  the  economy  of  redemption  as  the  source 
whence  all  streams  of  blessing  flow  ;  or,  changing  the 
figure,  He  is  represented  as  the  great  foundation  on 
which  the  magnificent  superstructure  of  redemption  is 
erected.  There  is,  then,  the  most  entire  harmony  be- 
tween the  sacred  Three  in  all  the  work  of  man's  salva- 
tion. We  have  in  this  verse,  in  a  very  striking  way, 
all  the  three  persons  of  the  Trinity  present  for  our  con- 
templation. It  is  rare  that  you  have  each  person  of  the 
Trinity  suggested  so  clearly  within  the  compass  of  a 
single  verse.  The  Son  is  represented  as  on  the  earth 
offering  His  prayer,  the  Father  as  giving  the  Spirit,  and 
the  Spirit  as  coming  to  comfort  the  disciples. 

Our  Lord  on  another  occasion  brought  out  very  fully 
for  us  the  work  of  each  person  in  the  Trinity.  I  refer 
to  the  occasion  of  the  nocturnal  visit  of  Nicodemus  to 
Jesus.     If  you  will  go  back  to  that  instance  you  will  re- 


152 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


11   ■:i!f 


1   I 


member  that  nowhere  in  all  the  epistles,  ana  nowhere 
else  in  the  gospels,  is  the  work  of  each  person  of  the 
Trinity  brought  out  so  clearly.  The  very  fact  that  it 
was  a  secret  interview  with  an  intelligent  man  and  an 
earnest  inquirer,  explains  Christ's  fall  and  free  revela- 
tion of  Himself.  It  is  full  of  significance.  Men  have 
said  that  Christ  changed  His  methods  of  instruction 
toward  the  latter  part  of  His  life  ;  that  He  became  bitter, 
and  uttered  invectives  against  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees, 
because  of  the  disappointment  of  His  entire  career.  The 
interview  with  Nicodemus  occurred  before  the  delivery 
of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount ;  and  in  that  interview  He 
clearly  teaches  us  that  He  understood  He  was  to  die. 
The  cross  lifted  itself  gloomy  and  grand  before  Him  in 
that  interview.  He  saw  Himself  dying  thereon.  He 
taught  ns  then  that  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He 
gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life  ;"  that 
"  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even 
80  must  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up."  You  have  in  this 
conversation  attention  directed  to  the  work  of  God  the 
Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Spirit  in  human  re- 
demption ;  and  in  the  compass  of  the  text  you  have  that 
same  broad  range  of  truth  suggested.  Here  we  have  the 
Trinity  in  sublimest,  divinest  harmony  in  the  work  of 
human  redemption,  and  the  Spirit  promised  in  connection 
■with  the  prayer  of  Jesus. 

2.  You  notice,  in  the  second  place,  that  the  blessing 
promised  is  that  of  another  Comforter — ''  And  1  will 
pray  the  Father  and  JSe  shall  give  you  another  Comfort- 
er.'''' The  word  translated  Comforter  is  found  only  in 
the  writings  of  John.  You  look  in  vain  for  it  in  all 
other  portions  of  Scripture.  We  have  it  four  times  in 
the  Gospel  recorded  by  John,  as  coming  from  the  lips  of 


THE   PROMISE   OF  THE   COMFORTER. 


153 


Jesus.  We  find  it  once  in  the  first  Epistle  of  John,  2  :  1. 
In  the  Gospel,  where  the  word  is  used  by  Christ  and 
is  apph'ed  to  the  third  person  of  the  Trinity,  it  is  trans- 
lated Comforter ;  in  tlio  epistle,  where  it  is  applied  to 
Jesns,  it  is  translated  Advocate.  In  both  instances  the 
word  is  the  same  ;  it  is  the  divine  Paraclete. 

Commentators  divide  at  the  interpretation  of  this  word 
generally  into  two  classes.  The  first  class  prefer  to  trans- 
late the  word  Paraclete  by  our  word  Comforter  ;  the 
other,  Advocate.  The  fact  is  that  there  is  no  one  word  in 
our  language  which  will  adequately  express  the  idea  of 
the  word  Paraclete.  The  word  Comforter  is  too  spe- 
cific, too  limited  in  its  range.  The  word  Advocate  is  ad- 
mirable when  applied  to  the  work  of  God  the  Son,  as  the 
word  is  used  in  the  passage  in  the  epistle,  to  which  I 
have  already  referred  ;  but  neither  is  broad  enough  and 
comprehensive  enough  to  express  all  the  richness,  glory, 
and  blessedness  of  the  idea  wrapped  up  in  the  word  Par- 
aclete. If  we  look  at  the  word  itself  a  little  more  close- 
ly, we  shall  discover  that  it  is  made  up  of  a  verb  mean- 
ing to  call,  to  summon,  and  of  a  preposition  meaning 
by  the  side  of.  So  the  verb  and  preposition  together 
mean,  one  summoned  to  our  side.  As  concerning  the 
sacred  meaning,  it  comes,  of  course,  to  be  one  summoned 
to  our  side  to  render  us  spiritual  help.  It  means  not 
simply  to  comfort  us  in  sorrow,  not  simply  to  advocate 
our  case  before  a  judicial  tribunal,  but  also  to  perform 
many  other  ofiices.  Our  word  Comforter  comes  to  us 
from  Wyckliffe,  and  he  doubtless  used  it  in  the  sense  of 
the  Latin  confortari^  which  has  a  broader  meaning  than 
comfort,  as  we  now  use  that  word  ;  the  word  comfort 
doubtless  had  the  broader  meaning  earlier  in  the  history 
of  our  language^  meaning  to  strengthen  greatly. 

We  have  only  to  remember  that  in  Oriental  countries, 


154 


CHRIST,    AND   niM   ClIUCIFIED, 


I 


Hi 


I 
i! 


I 


I 


1 


and  in  ancient  times,  it  was  quite  common  for  those  who 
were  summoned  to  appear  before  courts  to  have  friends 
come  as  their  patrons  ;  these  were  called  in  Greek  para- 
cletes^ or,  using  the  corresponding  term  in  Latin,  advo- 
cates.    They  were  not   hired   pleaders  ;    their  services 
were  gratuitous.     They  were  generally  men  of  large  so- 
cial influence,   sometimes  men  of  political  power,  and 
they  stood  by  the  person  arraigned  before  the  tribunal, 
to  give  their  legal  knowledge,  their  social  influence,  and 
to  help  in  any  one  of  the  many   ways  in  which  it  was 
possible  for  them  to  render  aid.     Exactly  that  idea  is  in- 
cluded in  the  word  Comforter.     A  prominent  part  of  the 
oflice  of  the  Comforter,  especially  when  Christ  spake  the 
text,  was  to  give  comfort  in  the  simple,  natural,  ordinary 
sense  of  that  term.     That  the  disciples  needed  ;  but  it 
was  only  a  part  of  the  work  of   the   divine   Paraclete. 
His  work  is  fully  specified  for  us  later  in  the  chapter. 
He  was  to  guide  the  disciples  into  all  truth  ;  He  was  to 
take  the  things  of  Christ  and  make  them  known  to  them. 
Looking  at  the  history  of  the  Church  we  see  what  the 
work  of  the  Spirit  has  been  in  different  ages  and  coun- 
tries.    In    the   Reformation   period,  as   Dr.  Owen  sug- 
gests, His  work  was  that  of  an  Illuminator.     The  Word 
of  God  had  been  sealed  ;  the  Spirit's  influence  came  to 
illumine  the  sacred  page  and  the  minds  of  its  readers. 
There  was  a  twofold  blessing  given  to  the  disciples  as 
they  walked  to   Emmaus  ;    their  eyes  were  opened  and 
the  Scriptures  were  opened.     There   was   this   twofold 
blessing  all  through  the  period  of  the  Reformation.    Only 
the  Spirit,   through  whose   guidance  these  words  were 
written,  can  rightly  interpret  these  words.    Only  as  the}' 
are  read  in  the  light  that  He  bestows  can  they  be  under- 
stood.   No  one  can  fully  interpret  the  Word  of  God  but 
the  Spirit  of  God.     You  bring  from  the  Word  what  you 


THE   PROMISE   OF  THE   COMFORTER. 


155 


have  eyes  to  see  ;  you  find  what  you  have  discernment 
to  discover  and  hearts  to  understand.  No  mJin  can  en- 
joy the  ocean  but  he  who  has  oceans  in  his  soul  ;  no  man 
can  appreciate  mountains  but  he  who  has  mountains  on 
his  brain.  No  man  can  undei-stand  this  wondrous  revela- 
tion of  God  if  ho  have  not  the  Spirit  of  God  in  his  own 
soul.  It  thus  comes  to  pass  that  many  simple-minded 
Christians,  with  no  show  of  learning,  understand  the 
mind  of  the  Spirit  better  than  profound  scholars  who 
have  not  the  mind  of  the  Spirit.  This  is  in  harmony 
with  a  general  law.  To  one  man,  even  Raphael's 
**  Transfiguration"  is  only  so  much  painted  canvas, 
while  to  another  it  is  a  work  of  matchless  beauty  and 
transcendent  genius.  The  latter  has  trained  eyes  to 
discover  its  beauty,  and  cultivated  taste  to  appreciate  the 
triumph  of  its  peerless  art.  So  with  die  Word  of  God. 
In  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  to  illumine.  Take  the  time  of  Carey,  Judson, 
and  other  of  our  great  missionaries  ;  then  the  special 
work  of  the  Spirit  was  to  awaken  the  desires  and  hearts 
of  His  people  to  their  duty  in  spreading  the  truth.  I 
think  to-day  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  is  on  the  side  of 
practical  Christianity  ;  on  the  side  of  all  forms  of  practi- 
cal benevolence— the  reaching  down  to  the  lowly,  and 
using  all  the  power  of  truth,  and  all  the  agencies  of  the 
Church  of  God  for  the  conversion  of  men. 

There  never  was  a  time  when  the  Church  was  more 
practical  than  to-day.  Men  sometimes  have  the  idea 
that  the  best  times  of  the  Church  are  in  the  past,  that 
the  world  is  growing  worse.  It  is  not.  The  Church 
was  never  more  intelligent,  more  benevolent,  and  more 
consecrated  than  at  this  time.  The  world  is  feeling  the 
blessed  influence  of  the  Church,  lifting  it  to  a  higher 
plane  and  supporting  it  thereon.     This  is,  in  my  judg- 


'r* 


156 


CHIilST,    AND   IIIM   CRUCIFIED. 


ii  ' 


;  'i        I! 


merit,  the  special  work  in  which  the  Paraclete  is  using 
Ills  influence  now.  You  see,  therefore,  both  from  the 
meaning  of  the  word  itself,  and  from  the  actual  work  of 
the  Spirit  all  through  the  history  of  the  Church  of  God, 
that  the  word  Comforter  or  Advocate  is  too  limited  to 
express  the  full  idea  which  God  has  wrapped  up  in  the 
word  Paraclete.  Light  also  comes  upon  it  from  another 
quarter,  and  that  is  in  the  use  of  the  word  "  another"  in 
this  connection.  "We  are  taught,  that  what  Christ  was 
to  the  disciples,  that  the  Spirit  would  be  to  them  and  to 
us.  "We  are  taught  that  He  was  to  take  up,  continue, 
and  complete  the  work  which  Christ  began.  Christ 
Himself  had  not  ceased  as  their  Advocate,  but  He  had 
changed  the  sphere  of  His  activity.  He  is  now  our  Advo- 
cate with  the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Father's 
Advocate  with  us.  There  is  thus  a  twofold  process  of 
advocacy  constantly  going  forward,  Christ  pleading  with 
God  for  us,  and  the  Spiiit  pleading  with  us  for  God. 
"Whatever  Christ  did,  therefore,  during  His  personal 
ministry,  that  the  Spirit  was  now  to  continue  to  do  ;  for 
He  was  to  be  another  Paraclete.  Christ's  work  during 
His  ministry  was  not  only  that  of  a  Comforter,  but  more. 
And  now  He  tells  us  as  He  is  about  to  go  that  the  Spirit 
will  be  another  Paraclete.  The  Spirit  is  here  to  do  simi- 
lar service,  to  carry  forward  the  work  to  the  triumph 
of  the  Cliurch,  the  conversion  of  the  world,  and  the 
glory  of  the  Triune  God. 

3.  You  will  notice,  in  the  third  place,  that  we  are 
taught  here  that  the  Spirit  is  to  have  a  permanent  resi- 
dence in  the  Church  ;  that  *'  He  may  abide  with  you 
forever. ''''  This  is  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit.  I  have 
called  your  attention  before  to  the  fact  that,  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  we  had  the  incarnation  of  the  Spirit. 
In  the  manger  at  Bethlehem  we  had  the  incarnation  of 


THE   PROMISE   OF  THE   COMFOKTER. 


157 


the  second  person  of  the  Trinity,  and  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  we  had  the  inr'«rnation  of  the  third  person  of 
the  Trinity.  Christ  had  been  in  the  world  for  limited 
periods  previous  to  His  coming  for  thirty-three  and  one 
half  years.  So  the  Spirit  had  been  in  the  world  pre- 
vious to  His  incarnation  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  But 
just  as  Christ,  after  His  birth  in  the  manger  at  Bethle- 
hem, was  incarnated  in  a  fuller  manifestation,  so  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost  the  incarnation  of  the  Spirit  was  more 
complete  and  glorious. 

I  have  lon<^  felt  that  we  make  too  little  of  this  won- 
drous truth  ;  long  felt  that  only  in  a  limited  sense  ought 
we  to  pray,  '*  pour  out  thy  Spirit."  He  is  here.  Hu- 
man souls,  redeemed  by  divine  grace,  are  the  *'  temples 
of  the  Holy  Ghost."  When  Christ  was  here.  He  was 
not  in  a  temple  ;  He  only  tabernacled,  only  tented. 
This  is  distinctly  stated  :  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh  and 
dwelt,  tented,  among  us."  The  difference  between  a 
tent  and  a  home  is  nnggested  by  the  contrast  between 
Christ's  temporary  residence  and  the  Spirit's  permanent 
abode.  Before  the  Exodus,  the  children  of  Israel  tented, 
and  had  also  a  tent  as  God's  house.  But  when  they  had 
possession  of  the  land,  when  the  throne  was  established, 
then  God  was  no  longer  to  be  worshipped  in  a  tent,  but 
in  a  temple.  Precisely  as  Israel  dwelt  in  a  tent  did 
Christ  tabernacle  in  the  flesh  ;  but  the  Spirit's  presence 
is  permanent,  for  the  promise  is  that  *'  He  may  abide 
witli  you  forever."  Christ  could  not  abide  ;  that  was 
not  the  plan  in  the  unfolding  of  the  eternal  thought  of 
God  in  human  redemption.  Each  person  in  the  blessed 
Trinity  had  His  part  to  perform.  Christ  performed  His 
in  His  perfect  life  and  atoning  death,  and  in  His  glorious 
ascension  ;  He  continues  to  perform  it  by  His  interces- 
sion at  the  right  hand  of  God.     I  think  it  fitting,  as 


•r 


158 


CHRIST,    AXD   HIM   CRUCIFIBa 


I' 


illustrating  this  thought,  that  I  should  once  more  remind 
you  of  tho  relation  between  the  **  Acts  of  tho  Apostles" 
and  the  Gospels.  Tlie  book  might  better  be  called  the 
**  Acts  of  the  Lord  "  than  the  ''Acts  of  the  Apostles." 
There  is  no  evidence  that  tho  title  was  given  by  divine 
inspiration,  no  evidence  that  it  was  affixed  by  Luke.  It. 
is  not  the  work  of  the  apostles  to  which  our  attention  is 
chieflv  directed  ;  it  is  still  to  the  work  of  the  divine  and 
ascended  Redeemer.  This  is  suggested  in  tho  opening 
of  the  book  :  *'  The  former  treatise  have  1  made,  O 
Theopliilus,  of  all  that  Jesus  began  both  to  do  and 
teach,  until  the  day  in  which  He  was  taken  up."  And 
now  he  goes  on  to  tell  of  all  Jesus  continues  to  do  after 
He  had  been  taken  up.  Christ  is  still  working.  His 
pierced  palm  is  on  the  helm  of  the  universe.  His  will 
dominates  the  world.  His  power  rules  the  nations.  From 
His  lofty  watch-tower  in  the  heavens,  He  is  controlling 
all  events  for  the  glory  of  His  name  and  the  triumph  of 
His  truth.  He  continues  to  work  there,  and  tho  other 
Paraclete  continues  to  work  here.  This,  I  repeat,  is  tho 
dispensation  of  the  Spirit.  This  •  another  unfolding  of 
God's  plan.  We  saw  part  of  the  finished  work  in  the 
Old  Testament  ;  but  we  see  the  fullest  in  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 

Friends,  wo  ought  to  emphasize  this  truth  ;  we  ought 
to  exalt  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Wo  ought  to  givo 
Him  the  place  that  Christ  gave  Him — that  of  another 
Comforter.  You  have  sometimes  wished  that  you  might 
have  seen  Jesus.  If  you  could  but  carry  youi-sel  f  back 
to  that  time,  you  would  have  all  the  prejudices  that  tho 
people  of  that  time  had.  Were  you  to  go  to  Palestine 
to-day  you  would  be  disappointed.  There  would  be  no 
place  except  a  limited  circle  about  Jacob's  well,  walk- 
ing in  which  you  could  be  sure  that  your  feet  were  where 


THE   PROMISE   OP  THE   COMFORTEH. 


159 


Christ's  had  been.  The  hixiuh  of  friends  and  focp,  and 
the  tooth  of  time,  have  tlfaced  the  phyt^ifal  nieinorials 
of  Christ's  presence.  Palestine  is  not  so  full  of  Jesus  to- 
day 08  is  New  York.  Even  Gethsemano  would  fail  to 
move  you  as  you  had  hoped  and  prayed.  It  would  not 
bo  a  blessing  had  Christ  remained  upon  the  earth  in  phys- 
ical form  till  now.  He  knew  hotter,  for  He  said,  "  It 
is  expedient  for  yon  that  I  go  away,  for  if  I  go  not  away 
the  Comforter  will  not  come.''  Christ  when  upon  the 
earth  in  physical  form  had  only  a  local  presence.  If  He 
were  in  one  place  Ho  could  not  be  in  another  at  the 
same  time.  But  now  Ho  is  gone,  and  the  S|)iiit  has 
come,  filling  the  hearts  of  His  people,  interpreting  His 
word,  carrying  forward  forever  the  triumphs  of  His  king- 
dom, liight  in  line  with  this  thought  is  seen  the  mis- 
take of  those  who  make  too  much  of  the  premillennial 
advent  of  Christ.  I  think  that  conception,  when  unduly 
pressed,  robs  the  Spirit  of  something  of  the  honor  which 
Christ  places  upon  Him.  This,  I  repeat  once  more,  is 
the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit.  He  is  here,  carrying  tho 
Church  into  the  brighter  glories  of  its  certain  future. 
If  Christ  in  His  personal  presence  were  here,  I  cannot  sco 
how  He  would  control  events  more  successfully  than  the 
promised  and  present  Paraclete  is  doing. 

Men  are  just  the  same  now  as  were  the  disciples. 
"When  going  out  to  the  eastern  declivity  of  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  some  of  the  disciples  asked  Christ  if  He  were 
now  to  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel,  and  what  did  He 
say  ?  This  :  "  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times  or 
the  seasons,  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  His  own  power. 
But  ye  shall  receive  power,  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
como  upon  you  :  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  Me  both 
in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto 
the  uttermost  part  of  tho  earth."    Men  are  more  anxious 


V     'i 


i    i 


160 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


to  be  prophets  than  witnesses.  Your  work  and  mine  is 
to  witness  for  Christ,  by  Christljr  lives,  by  pure  words, 
and  by  noble  deeds. 

Let  us  recognize,  good  friends,  the  continual  presence, 
and  rejoice  in  the  glorious  power  of  the  Spirit  of  Truth. 
He  abides  with  us  forever.  Did  you  notice  that  word 
"  forever  ?"  Do  yon  think  it  will  be  robbed  of  its  mean- 
ing at  the  tomb  or  grave  ?  Forever  He  is  to  abide  with 
us,  interpreting  the  things  of  Christ.  Oh,  what  lessons 
we  aro  to  learn  when  we  are  face  to  face  with  Jesus  in 
His  kingdom,  and  the  Spirit  is  with  us,  forever  inter- 
preting the  things  of  Christ  !  May  we  now  be  under 
the  continud  guidance  of  the  blessed  Paraclete  !  May 
He  lead  us  into  all  truth,  taking  the  things  of  Christ  and 
showing  them  unto  us  !  Only  as  we  are  thus  led  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  do  we  prove  to  ourselves  and  to  others  that 
we  are  the  sons  of  God. 


1    h 


XIIL 
CHARACTER  AND   DESTINY. 


i 


"  And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment :  but  the 
righteoas  into  life  eternal." — Matt.  25  :  i6. 

"We  are  this  evening  to  discuss  the  subject  of  Future 
Punishment.  It  is  a  solemn  and  painful  subject.  At- 
tention has  been  called  to  it  recently  in  a  variety  of  ways. 
This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  The  old  ground  has  to 
be  gone  over  again  every  few  years,  in  the  case  of  all 
truths  and  errors.  A  new  generation  has  come  up  since 
there  has  been  a  thorough  discussion  of  this  subject.  It 
is  fitting  that  it  be  looked  at  afresh.  "No  lover  of  truth 
has  anything  to  fear  from  the  earnest  examination  of 
God's  "Word.  Truth  may  bo  crucified  or  for  a  time 
buried  ;  but  it  will  eveniuaiiy  come  down  from  the  cross, 
or  up  from  the  grave,  and  take  its  riglitf ul  place  on  the 
throne.  Truth  loves  the  light.  Error  alone  dreads  and 
avoids  it. 

Much,  however,  depends  upon  the  spirit  in  which  such 
examinations  and  discussions  take  place.  A  controversial 
spirit  is  bad  always  and  everywhere.  It  is  especially  bad 
in  connection  with  so  solemn  a  subject  as  this.  An  hum- 
ble, teachable,  and  devout  temper  is  always  commend- 
able. It  is  absolutely  indispensable  here.  "  The  secret 
of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  Him."  "He  that  is 
spiritual  judgeth  all  things."  Every  science  has  its  pe- 
culiar difficulties,  which  give  way  only  to  him  who  pos- 
sesses the  appropriate  scientific  spirit.     The   discovery 


ill 


T' 


mm 


li  '] 


P  I 


I 


I 


=  i  i 


l:*i    i( 


!  lilli 


!ill! 


162 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


and  declaration  of  the  truths  of  God's  Word  are  no  excep- 
tion. 

Personal  feeling  must  give  way  before  the  eternal 
verities  of  God's  revelation.  Painful  though  this  subject 
is,  I  dare  not  pass  over  it.  If  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
would  say,  "  I  am  free  from  the  blood  of  all  men,"  he 
must  also  be  able  to  say,  ^'  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare 
unto  you  all  the  counsel  of  God."  I  am  not  hereto 
apologize  for  God  ;  I  am  here  to  declare  His  truth.  He 
is  able  to  protect  His  character  and  to  defend  His  Word. 
He  needs  no  apology  from  any  of  His  creatures.  Who 
are  we  that  we  should  judge  the  Eternal  ?  ''  Shall  not  the 
Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right  ?"  When  Christ  speaks 
we  are  to  listen.  Ours  it  is  to  sit  at  His  feet  and  learn 
the  words  of  wisdom  which  fall  from  His  grace- anointed 
lips.  He  knows  whereof  He  affirms.  He  came  from 
the  bosom  of  God  ;  He  returned  to  the  throne  of  the 
majesty  on  high.  He  voiced  the  thought  of  the  eternal 
God.  He  is  the  eternal  God.  He  spoke  as  one  having 
authority.  The  Word  of  the  Lord  Jesus  before  that  of 
Canon  Farrar  or  Mr.  Beecher  any  day  ! 

It  does  not  seem  necessary  for  me  to  prove  that  there 
is  a  future  life  of  some  kind,  neither  need  I  prove  as  a 
separate  proposition  that  there  is  a  hell.  If  it  can  be 
shown  that  punishment  is  eternal,  then  there  must  be  a 
place  or  condition,  or  both,  of  such  punishment.  It  is 
needless  to  hunt  through  the  Old  Testament  chasing 
after  Sheol,  or  through  the  New  Tertament  after  Gehenna 
and  Hades,  wearying  you  with  a  statement  of  the  num- 
ber of  times  they  are  mentioned,  and  the  shades  of  mean- 
ing in  which  they  are  used.  It  is  admitted  by  all,  who 
have  any  definite  belief  at  all  on  these  subjects,  that 
those  dying  in  impenitence  and  sin,  suffer  punishment  in 
some  form  and  some  degree.     Is  that  punishment  end- 


CHARACTER    AND    DESTINY. 


1G3 


les8  ?    The  answer  to  this  question  carries  with  it  all  the 
discussions  about  hell. 


PUNISHMENT   FALLS    ON   PERSONS. 

The  thing  which  our  text  suggests  is  that  rewards  and 
punishments  in  the  future  life  come  upon  persons.  There 
are  those  who  endeavor  to  show  that  punishment  falls  on 
sin,  but  not  on  the  sinner.  Such  a  conclusion  results 
from  a  strange  confusion  of  thought.  And  for  the  con- 
clusion and  the  confusion  alike  orthodox  Christians  are 
largely  responsible.  We  constantly  hear  persons  speak 
of  God  as  loving  the  sinner,  but  hating  his  sin.  There 
may  be  a  popular  sense  in  which  this  is  true.  But,  strictly 
speaking,  it  is  impossible,  and  is  misleading.  If  you  think 
of  sin  as  an  act,  you  cannot  punish  it,  except  as  you 
punish  the  actor.  If  you  think  of  sin  as  a  state  of  heart 
out  of  which  the  bad  act  comes,  you  can  punish  it  only 
by  punishing  the  possessor  of  that  heart.  How  can  you 
punish  the  burglary  except  as  you  punish  burglars  ?  The 
law  which  could  in  this  case  punish  the  sin  and  let  the 
sinner  escape  would  be  wonderfully  popular  with  burg- 
lars. To  talk  of  punishing  sin  and  not  punishing  the 
sinner  is  to  talk  al  solute  nonsense. 

The  words  of  Christ  are  in  this  case  in  harmony  with 
the  nece  =5ary  conclusions  of  our  reason.  He  teaches  us 
that  in  tL  '  future  life  men  are  divided  into  two  classes. 
Personality  still  exists.  It  cannot  be  destroyed.  A  wall 
high  as  heaven  and  deep  as  hell,  separates  man  from  man 
in  the  deepest  solemnities  of  life,  and  in  the  destiny  of 
eternity.  **  These  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punish- 
ment; but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal."  We  must 
stand  at  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ.  Each  man  for 
himself  must  give  account  for  the  deeds  done  in  the  body, 
according  to  that  which  he  hath  done,  whether  good  or 


1      .^ 

1^ 


} 
I 


J^ 


164 


CHUIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


*      Ml' 


flt    . 


Ui 


i  ' 


I  fii 


III 


I 

ii 


bad.  When  a  soul  begins  the  journey  of  life,  it,  as  a 
separate  soul,  starts  on  an  endless  journey.  Its  life  is 
deathless.  Every  child  is  born  for  the  eternities.  Men 
and  women,  you  and  I  must  stand  before  the  great 
wliite  throne.  We  must  see,  amid  His  dazzling  glories 
and  supernal  splendors,  Him  whom  we  have  pierced. 
Every  eye  shall  see  Ilim.  How  shall  we  bear  the  sight  ? 
If  in  the  Judge  we  can  see  also  our  loving  Saviour,  look- 
ing forward  to  that  day,  we  can  say  :  **  Even  so,  come, 
Lord  Jesus.'* 

THE  BIBLE  THE   ONLY  AUTHORirT. 

It  is  clear  that  as  to  the  place,  the  nature  and  the  du- 
ration of  future  punishment,  the  Bible  must  be  our  au- 
thority. I  assume  that  it  is  true.  So  do  the  opponents 
of  eternal  punishment.  We  have,  then,  common  standing 
ground.  We,  as  a  denomination,  demand  a  "  Thus  saith 
the  Lord,'*  for  this,  as  for  all  other  articles  of  our  faith. 
No  man  can  decide  on  any  general  principle  how  long 
or  how  much  the  wicked  ought  to  suffer.  Such  ques- 
tions are  too  high  for  us  ;  we  cannot  scale  their  heights. 
They  are  too  deep  ;  we  cannot  sound  their  depths.  God 
is  infinitely  wise  and  good.  What  this  wise  and  good 
Being  may  see  fit  to  determine  no  mortal  can  decide. 
These  questions  lie  outside  the  range  of  human  reason. 
We  do  not  know,  to  the  full,  how  heinous  sin  ii^,  as 
committed  against  the  infinitely  best  Being  in  the  uni- 
verse. We  know  not  how  far-reaching  it  is  in  its  conse- 
quences. We  do  know  that  no  sin  is  self-contained.  Its 
evil  influences  stretch  out  in  ever- widening  ranges  as  do 
the  circles  made  by  the  pebble  dropped  into  the  quiet 
lake.  The  sins  you  have  this  day  committed  may  affect 
generations  yet  unborn.  The  very  air,  tainted  with  the 
breath  of  profanity,  will  be  a  witness  against  the  swearer. 


CHARACTHR    AXD   DESTINY. 


165 


That  oath  generated  an  atmospheric  wave  which  has  im- 
pinged against  the  eternal  throne.  It  is  treasured  np 
against  the  day  of  wrath.  It  has  been  said  that,  **  The 
lifting  of  a  hand  sends  a  vibration  to  the  stars."  A 
young  man,  when  dying,  exclaimed  in  agony,  **  Oh 
gather  up  ray  influence  and  let  it  be  buried  with  me  !" 
The  wish  was  vain.  As  well  nn'ght  one  call  to  the  winds 
to  obey  his  voice.  But  God  knows  what  sin  is  in  all  its 
consequences.  **  He  is  too  good  to  be  unkind  ;  He  is 
too  wise  to  err.""  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony  ;  let 
God  bo  true,  though  every  man  be  a  liar.  We  have 
simply  to  learn  what  God  says,  and  then  humbly  accept 
His  authority. 

DESCRIPTIVE     TERMS. 

The  place  of  punishment  is  called  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, in  general  terms,  Hades  and  Gehenna.  It  is  further 
described  in  Luke  Ifi  :  28,  asa  ^*  place  of  torment;"  when 
the  condition  of  suffering  is  in  mind,  it  is  called  **  wrath 
of  God"  and  **  second  death  ;"  it  is  **  everlasting  lire, 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels.' '  It  is  ^'  hell  tire," 
**  where  their  worm  dietli  not,  and  the  fire  is  not 
quenched"  (Mark  9  :  44)  ;  '*  the  lake  which  burneth  with 
tire  and  brimstone"  (Rev.  21  :  8) ;  ^*  bottomless  pit" 
(Rev.  9:2);  ^*  outer  darkness  :  there  shall  be  weeping 
and  gnashing  of  teeth"  (Matt.  8  :  12)  ;  '*  furnace  of  fire" 
(Matt.  13:42);  *' unquenchable  fire"  (Luke  3:17); 
'^  I  am  tormented  in  this  flame"  (Luke  16  :  24)  ;  **  black- 
ness of  darkness"  (elude  13)  ;  *' tormented  with  fire  and 
brimstone"  (Rev.  14  :  10)  ;  **  The  smoke  of  their  tor- 
ment ascended  up  forever  and  ever  :  and  they  have  no  rest 
day  nor  night"  (Rev.  14  :  11). 

We  are  thus  taught  that  the  wicked  are  to  be  banished 
from  the  presence  of  God  and  all  good  ;  that  they  will 


'f 

ii: 


■^. 


1C6 


CHRIST,    AND   II I M    CRUCIFIED. 


I 


I 


be  under  the  dominion  of  unrestrained  evil  ;  that  con- 
science will  eternally  reproach,  an^  remorse  forever  gnaw  ; 
that  they  will  suffer  the  natural  consequences  of  sin,  and 
in  addition  the  penal  inflictions  of  a  righteous  God. 
From  all  we  know  of  the  continuity  of  law  and  the  per- 
manence of  character,  it  is  likely  that  they  will  grow  worse 
as  the  ages  pass.  Are  they  in  literal  flames  and  chains  ? 
They  are  in  that  which  can  best  be  described  by  such 
language.  Christ  is  the  Truth.  Ho  cannot  misrepresent ; 
whether  the  account  which  we  have  of  Lazarus  and  the 
rich  man  be  a  history  or  a  parable,  it  is  true.  A  parable 
lias  its  drapery,  but  the  drapery  must  convey  the  truth. 
If  other  language  than  that  whicli  is  used  of  the  misery 
of  the  lost  would  express  the  truth,  other  language  would 
have  been  used.  Christ  cannot  deceive.  Christ  would 
not  needlessly  alarm.  We  may  assert,  with  Dr.  Hodge, 
that  it  cannot  be  literal  fire,  inasmuch  as  the  devil  and 
his  angels  have  no  material  bodies  to  be  acted  on  by  ele- 
mental fire.  What  then  ?  Nothing  is  gained.  The  con- 
dition is  such  that  it  can  be  best  described  by  the  terrible 
images  which  the  loving  Lord  invariably  uses.  Oh,  the 
agonies  of  a  lost  soul  I  Christ  knew  its  worth.  He 
knew  its  awful  loss.  On  the  wings  of  mercy  He  flew  to 
its  relief.  He  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  whicli  was 
lost. 

ARE   THESE    SUFFERINGS    ENDLESS  ? 

The  doctrine  held  by  the  great  body  of  Christians  in 
the  various  branches  of  the  Church,  in  all  ages,  is  that 
the  conscious  existence  of  the  soul  is  unending  ;  that 
those  who  die  alienated  from  God  must  so  remain  for- 
ever ;  that  repentance  is  impossible,  and  that  the  misery 
of  the  impenitent  is  endless. 


CHARACTER   AND   DESTINY. 


1G7 


IF   NOT,  WHAT   SHALL   WE   SUBSTITUTE  ? 

If  this  doctrine  be  not  true,  in  what  way  shall  we  dis- 
pose of  the  soul  ?  Various  opinions  have  been  held.  It 
is  not  our  purpose  either  to  state  or  to  discuss  these  at 
length.  1&  the  soul  annihilated  P  So  sonne  have  affirmed. 
Gross  materialists  make  thought  a  secretion  of  the  brain. 
It  is  the  brain  in  motion.  They  know  no  soul.  Man  is 
an  animal.  He  is  a  vegetable.  He  is  what  he  eats. 
Carlyle  calls  this  **  the  gospel  of  dirt."  Its  "god  is  its 
belly."  It  is  abominable.  It  degrades  a  minister  to  re- 
fute it.  Its  refutation  is  an  insult  to  you.  Are  j^ou  no 
better  than  animals  ?  Others  assert  that  no  man  has  a 
soul  until  he  is  converted.  What,  then,  may  we  ask,  is 
converted  ?  The  life  Christ  gives  the  righteous  is  im- 
mortality ;  the  death  of  the  wicked  is  extinction  of  life, 
it  is  said.  The  second  death  maybe  protracted  and  pain- 
ful, but  it  will  come,  say  the  advocates  of  this  doctrine. 
Annihilation  is  the  vain  hope  of  men  consciously  wicked, 
and,  therefore,  fearful.  It  is  weak  and  cowardly.  I  un- 
hesitatingly affirm  that  no  satisfactory  evidence  in  its 
support  can  be  found  in  the  Bible.  The  Bible,  legiti- 
mately interpreted,  conveys  the  opposite  meaning.  I 
cannot  pause  long  on  this.  Any  man  who  will  affirm 
that  the  words  "  life''  and  **  death"  in  the  Bible  are  to 
be  used  in  the  limited  and  degraded  sense  in  which  An- 
nihilationists  use,  them,  advertises  his  utter  inability  to 
interpret  any  document.  Can  God  annihilate  a  soul  ? 
The  question  is  asked  with  all  reverence.  He  has  de- 
graded, but  He  has  not  annihilated  Satan.  The  immor- 
tal in  Satan  and  man  is  a  spark  of  the  divine  flame. 
Can  God  annihilate  Himself  ?  A  belief  in  this  doctrine 
unspeakably  degrades  the  whole  scheme  of  redemption. 

Did  God  give  His  only  begotten  Son  to  the  shame  and 


^  i 


!' 


-'«■ 


I  ?i 


i^ 


!i 


1 


168 


CIIIUST,    AND    niM    CRLTIFIKD. 


agony  of  tlio  cross  merely  to  save  men  from  annihilation  ? 
Was  this  tho  purpose  of  Clirist's  wondrous  birth,  glori- 
ous life,  atoning  death,  victorious  resurrection,  and  tri- 
umphant ascension  ?  If  annihilation  was  the  **  end-all" 
of  the  wicked,  tho  cross  of  Calvary  was  a  stupendous 
1)1  under.  To  say  that  annihilation  is  the  eternal  punish- 
ment of  the  wicked  is  nonsense.  Can  you  punish  those 
who  have  ceased  to  be  ?  Can  you  punish  a  nonentity  ? 
As  well  might  you  talk  of  punishing  those  who  were  uot 
born.  Oh,  men  and  women,  you  are  immortal  I  In- 
trenched within  its  own  immortality  the  soul  defies  death. 
It  smiles  at  the  dagger.  It  cannot  die.  Where  will  you 
spend  eternity  ?  What  will  you  do  with  that  immortal 
and  priceless  treasure  ?  Christ  came  to  seek  and  to  save 
you,  not  from  annihilation,  but  from  sin  and  hell,  and 
to  purity  here  and  eternal  bliss  hereafter.  Commit  your 
souls  to  Him. 

Does  a  second  jobation  help  the  matter  ?  Some  have 
assumed  that  punishment  is  reformatory  ;  that  when  it 
accomplishes  its  end  it  will  cease,  and  that  all  sinners, 
men  and  angels,  shall  yet  be  restored  to  the  favor  of 
God.  Oiigen  taught  this.  This  assumption  contains 
many  errors.  It  assumes  that  men  who  have  despised 
one  probation  would  improve  a  second.  What  right  has 
any  man  to  think  he  would  do  so  ?  What  inducements 
to  repent  could  God  offer  men  then  which  He  does  not 
offer  now  ?  The  Atonement  of  Christ  and  the  sanctify- 
ing power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  the  means  of  salvation. 
These  are  never  offered  in  hell.  A  man's  salvation  is 
less  likely  then  than  now.  Is  it  hard  to  be  a  Christian 
now  ?  Now  you  have  Christ  with  extended  arms  and 
loving  heart.  You  have  an  open  Bible.  You  have  a 
preached  Gospel.  You  have  prayer-meetings  and  Sab- 
baths.    You  have  praying  parents  and  friends.     Will  it 


i 


CHARACTER  AND   DESTINY. 


169 


be  easier  to  repent  in  hell  ?  There  yoa  m\\  be  banished 
from  God — under  His  curse,  in  unspeakable  torments, 
without  grace,  without  hope,  and  with  lost  men  and 
devils  for  your  companions.  A  second  probation  I  Why 
not  a  third  ?  Repentance,  salvation  in  hell  !  Is  hell  more 
potent  to  subdue  a  proud  heart  than  the  cross  of  Cal- 
vary ?  If  so,  again  I  say,  that  the  cross  is  a  stupendous 
blunder.  I  speak  to  those  who  trample  over  a  mother's 
prayers,  who  pass  by  the  bleeding  love  of  Jesus  as  an 
unholy  thing,  and  press  their  way  to  perdition.  What 
can  God  do  for  you  there  ?  God  has  already  exhausted 
Himself  !  What  more  can  He  do  than  He  has  done  to 
save  you  ?  1  am  not  debating  a  controverted  point.  I 
am  striving  to  win  your  soul.  Lord  Jesus,  have  mercy 
on  these  despisers  of  Thy  love  I 

Another  lalse  assumption  on  this  point  is  that  punish- 
ment is  reformatory.  Is  this  so  ?  Is  this  its  natural 
effect  'i  Are  there  not  thousands  of  men  in  prison  who 
are  hardened  tenfold  by  their  punishment  ?  Even  while 
the  law  has  its  firm  grip  upon  them,  they  are  plotting 
deeper  wickedness.  Suffering,  per  se,  has  no  purifying 
power.  Penalties  cannot  cleanse  the  heart.  They  may 
satisfy  human  law  for  past  crimes,  but  cannot  insure 
against  future  sins.  God  does  not  always  inflict  punish- 
ment with  the  design  of  reforming  men.  The  destiuc- 
tion  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  can  scarcely  be  called  a  re- 
form measure.  Their  cup  of  wrath  was  full.  God  held 
it  with  outstretched  arm  over  the  doomed  cities.  His 
servant  ceased  praying.  The  cup  was  poured  out.  The 
terrible  monument  of  God's  wrath  was  all  that  remained 
of  the  once  great  city  in  the  beautiful  vale  of  Siddim. 

The  death  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  was  rather  more 
than  a  reform  measure.  In  these  cases  God  has  per- 
mitted us  to  get  a  glimpse  of  His  workings.     Could  we 


II 


170 


CHIIIST,    AND   HIM    CllLTIFIRr). 


■    i 


$^ 


ii 


Bco  His  '•  ways"  as  j>ltiinly  in  otlier  eases,  no  doubt  tlio 
history  of  the  race  would  show  tens  of  thousands  of  just 
eucli  reform  measures.  How  terrible  must  bo  the  in- 
gratitude, and  how  awful  the  blindness  of  men  who  are 
despising  the  means  of  grace  to-day,  and  are  looking  for- 
ward to  perdition  as  a  school  of  reform  !  Satan  has  Buf- 
fered long.     Has  ho  reformed  ? 

But  the  Word  of  God  refutes  tliis  hope.  When  Paul 
says,  Rom.  5  :  18,  *'  That  as  by  the  offence  of  one,  judg- 
ment came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation,  so  by  the 
righteousness  of  One  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men 
unto  justification  of  life  ;"  or  *' as  in  Adam  all  die,'' 
etc.,  the  *'all"  is  limited  by  the  context.  Where  it  is 
said  that  He  will  have  all  to  be  saved,  it  teaches  not  His 
purpose  to  save  all,  but  rather  that  o  delights  not  in 
the  death  of  any.  All  the  positive  evidence  which  we 
shall  shortly  use  to  establish  the  trutli  of  the  text,  con- 
futes the  belief  in  a  second  probation  or  a  restoration. 

But  grant  that  tliis  view  were  true.  Why  should  men 
go  to  heaven  by  way  of  hell  ?  Why  spend  an  age  in 
the  flames  of  woe,  or  even  a  day,  or  an  hour  ;  why  go  at 
all  to  the  chambers  of  perdition,  when  God  has  opened 
a  way  by  the  cross  ?  I  put  it  to  you  now.  Am  I  not 
right  ?  God  invites  you.  Jesus  waits  to  welcome  you 
to-night.  Soon  your  doom  will  be  sealed.  The  eternal 
allotment  will  be  made.  The  "great  gulf"  will  be 
fixed  ;  and  he  that  is  unjust  and  filthy  will  be  unjust  and 
filthy  still. 

Come,  then,  to  Jesus  now.  He  graciously  invites  ; 
He  patiently  waits.  Flee  now  to  the  cross,  to  the  feet, 
to  the  heart  of  Jesus  Christ  and  be  saved  with  an  ever- 
lasting salvation.  God  grant  it,  for  His  name's  sake. 
Amen. 


XIY. 
FUTURE   PUNISHMENT— WHAT? 

"  And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment ;  but  the 
righteous  into  life  eternal." — Matt.  25  :  46. 

Once  more  we  approach  this  deeply  solemn  subject. 
Only  as  our  spirit  is  tender  and  prayerful,  teachable  and 
submissive,  are  we  prepared  to  discuss  a  subject  involv- 
ing such  tremendous  issues.  It  is  fitting  now  that  w© 
ask  and  strive  to  answer  some  solemn  questions. 

18    FUTURE    PUNISHMENT   CONTRARY    TO    DIVINE    LOVE? 

If  it  be  found  that  the  Bible  teaches  the  endlessness  of 
punishment,  we  need  not  hesitate  to  accept  the  doctrine 
lest  it  conflict  with  the  justice  of  God.  The  human 
mind  is  not  able  to  deal  with  all  the  elements  of  the 
problem.  We  know  that  punishment  should  bo  propor- 
tioned to  guilt.  It  is  then  asked  whether  any  man's 
sins  in  this  short  life  are  worthy  of  eternal  punishment. 
But  the  length  of  a  man's  punishment  is  not  determined 
by  the  length  of  time  it  took  him  to  commit  the  crime. 
It  often  takes  longer  to  commit  a  burglary  than  a  murder. 
Would  a  lawyer  urge  as  a  reason  for  a  light  punishment 
that  his  client,  charged  with  murder,  took  only  thirty  sec- 
onds to  commit  the  crime  ?  We  judge  by  the  nature  of 
the  crime,  not  by  the  time  taken  to  commit  it.  So  long 
as  men  are  sinful,  they  must  be  miserable.  This  law  is 
universal  as  gravitation  ;  it  is  eternal  as  God.  We  know 
not  what  punishment  is  due  to  a  man  who  sins  against 
God  and  His  Anointed. 


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Neitlicr  is  Goers  goodness  impugned  by  this  doctrine. 
If  sin  and  misery  arc  here  conpistent  with  God's  good- 
ness, may  they  not  be  beyond  ?  If  even  the  good  sufTer 
here,  may  not  tl»e  bad  Buffer  there  ?  We  must  not  for- 
get that  God  is  just  as  well  as  benevolent.  The  penalty 
He  imposes  on  sin  is  the  true  measure  of  its  deserts. 
There  can  be  no  conflict  between  the  elements  of  His  in- 
finite perfections.  Even  God's  goodness  in  its  broad 
application  to  Ilis  creation,  unites  with  His  justice  in 
demanding  the  punishment  of  the  ungodly.  But  this 
terrible  fact  must  ever  bo  put  alongside  of  the  provisions 
of  God's  grace.  He  has  provided  a  way  of  escape.  He 
Bends  none  to  perdition.  Men  choose  death  rather  than 
life.  As  one  of  the  Puritan  fathers  said,  in  substance, 
**  Over  every  mansion  in  glory  will  bo  written,  *  Free 
Grace,'  and  over  every  prison-house  of  woe,  the  con- 
sciences of  the  lost  will  compel  them  to  write,  *  De- 
served.' "  Indeed,  God's  goodness  would  bo  incomplete 
were  it  not  associated  with  a  righteous  indignation 
against  all  wrong.  Lacking  this,  God  would  not  be  God. 
Every  developed  moral  nature  has  this  element.  We  re- 
member Bushnell's  remark  when  speaking  of  the  wrath- 
principle  in  God,  "  Take  it  away  from  God  and  He  is 
simply  Brahma — a  mere  Fate,  or  Infinite  thing,  no  Gov- 
ernor of  the  world,  but  an  ideal  in  the  neuter  gender  of 
the  True  and  the  Good  ;  a  Beauty  that  lies  in  sweet  las- 
pitude  on  the  world  for  literary  souls  to  make  a  religion 
of  for  themselves.  Take  it  away  from  man  and  he  is 
only  paste,  or,  at  best,  an  animal."  This  element  gives 
majesty  to  God's  character. 

If  His  righteous  indignation  did  not  flash  out  and  burn 
against  wrong,  we  could  neither  love  nor  respect  him. 
Ours  does.  We  cannot  see  a  little  boy  hurt  by  a  big 
one  without  feeling  it.    Never  did  man  love  as  did  Christ. 


FUTURE  .  PUNISHMENT— WHAT  ? 


173 


Never  did  man  denonnco  wrong  as  did  Chriat.  Ilia 
wrath  flashed  out  at  wronjij.  IIo  spoke  terrible  words. 
lie  baptized  them  in  tears  of  tenderest  U)ve,  but  the  tears 
did  not  extin^uisli  the  Hrcs  of  His  indignation.  Head 
Christ's  life  with  that  thought  in  mind.  All  pure  and 
noble  souls  have  this  lofty  and  holy  indignation.  Chritit 
was  as  terrible  a  preacher  as  He  was  a  tender  preacher, 
lie  was  and  is  King.  Men  must  submit.  They  must 
beware  how  they  treasure  up  wrath  against  the  day  of 
wrath.  Oh,  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb  I  What  incongruous 
rhetoric  this  is  !  An  angry  lamb  !  The  Lamb  of  God, 
not  the  Lion  of  Judah,  angry  I  B«hold  the  goodness, 
ay,  and  the  severity  of  God  I 

But  let  us  not  forget  that  society  does  constantly  what 
we  may  find  that  the  Scriptures  say  God  does.  Dr. 
Parker,  in  his  chapter  on  Eternal  Punishments  in  '*  Ecce 
Deus,''  gives  some  suggestive  hints  on  this  point.  So- 
ciety must  draw  a  broad  line  of  demarcation  between  the 
good  and  the  bad.  Certain  persons  it  admits  ;  others  it 
excludes.  Some  men  it  never  forgives,  never  owns  so 
long  as  they  live.  Often  it  follows  tliem  with  its  wrath 
after  they  are  dead.  It  dare  not  honor  their  memory. 
This  is,  so  far  as  it  is  possible  for  society  to  go,  eternal 
punishment.  The  very  constitution  of  society  necessi- 
tates this.  Even  though  a  man  may  repent  and  reform, 
society  must  still  in  some  cases  condemn  him.  Society 
does  this  in  obedience  to  its  deepest  moral  instincts,  why 
should  we  be  startled  if  we  find  that  God  does  the  same 
thing  ?  If  we  find  it  necessary  to  condemn  men  eter- 
nally, so  far  as  our  conditions  admit,  may  not  God's  in- 
stincts and  the  exigencies  of  His  government  require  the 
same  thing  ?  If  we  are  not  shocked  at  our  own  course, 
why  need  we  be  at  God's  ? 


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CHRIST,    Ai^D  HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


A    STRONG    PRESUMPTION. 


Dr,  Hodge  calls  Special  attention  to  the  fact  that  nearly 
all  Christian  churches  have  understood  the  Bible  to  teach 
the  doctrine  of  the  unending  punishment  of  the  finally 
impenitent.  Tliis  unanimity  of  belief  cannot  be  referred 
to  any  philosophical  speculation.  Neither,  as  he  argues, 
can  it  be  accounted  for  on  the  ground  that  the  doctrine 
in  question  is  congenial  to  the  human  mind.  It  certainly 
is  not.  It  never  would  be  believed  for  its  own  sake,  if 
not  fully  confirmed.  The  heart  unbroken  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  the  heart  ignorant  of  its  own  guilt,  revolt,  and 
rebels  against  it.  Men  have  felt  that  they  must  accept 
the  doctrine  or  reject  the  book.  Ko  other  explanation 
will  account  for  its  general  reception.  Christ  and  His 
apostles  found  this  doctrine.  It  was  held  by  many — ^by 
the  great  majority  of  the  Jews.  How  did  Jesus  treat  it  ? 
When  did  He  contradict  or  correct  it  ?  He  corrected 
many  errors.  If  this  was  one,  might  we  not  expect  Him 
to  correct  it  ?  On  the  contrary,  His  teaching  tonded  to 
confirm  it.  Would  He  confirm  His  hearers  in  an  error 
of  such  moment  ?  Who  will  dare  say  so  ?  Is  there 
not  an  argument  in  this  negative  testimony  ? 

POSITIVE  EVIDENCE. 

Christ  and  His  apostles  taught  most  emphatically  and 
solemnly  the  ete  nal  punishment  of  the  finally  iiiipenitent. 
To  leave  no  room  for  doubt,  the  doctrine  is  taught  both 
affirmatively  and  negatively  ;  and,  lest  some  might  ques- 
tion the  meaning  of  a  word,  many  forms  of  expression 
are  used  to  express  the  truth.  If  it  can  ever  be  taught, 
it  is  taught  in  the  Bible.  It  is  taught  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. In  Isaiah  3'3  :  14,  the  question  is  asked,  **  Who 
among  us  shall  dwell  with  the  devouring  fire  ?    Who 


FUTURE  PUNISHMFXT — WHAT? 


175 


I 

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among  us  shall  dwell  witli  everlasting  burnings  V^  In 
Dan.  12  :  2^  we  read,  '*  And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in 
the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting 
life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt."  In 
the  New  Testament  the  language  is  still  clearer.  Christ 
came  to  bring  life  and  immortality  to  light  in  the  Gos- 
pel. He  came  also  to  bring  darkness  and  death  to  liglit. 
Both  classes  of  truths  were  known  before  ;  but  on  both 
lie  shed  a  fuller  light.  Indeed,  Christ  uncovered  tlie  pit. 
We  had  scarcely  known  it  but  for  Him.  It  is  novv  said 
as  a  reproach  to  some  men  that  they  are  *'  liell-fire 
preachers."  Christ  was  the  first  and  the  greatest  preach- 
er of  this  class  the  world  has  ever  known.  No  such 
*'  woes"  ever  fell  from  human  lips  as  fell  from  His. 
His  terrific  denunciations,  warnings,  and  rebukes  are 
scathing  and  scorching  even  now.  But  His  awful  au- 
thority was  evermore  blended  with  a  tearful  tenderness. 
There  is  quite  as  much  love  in  Ilis  threaten ings  as  in 
His  invitations.  When  there  has  been  a  great  railroad 
accident  in  the  night,  a  bridge  having  fallen  and  tlic  lives 
of  thousands  imperilled,  men  are  sent  up  and  down  the 
track  with  colored  lanterns  to  warn  approaching  trains 
of  their  danger  ;  they  are  simply  revealing  it.  They 
are  ministers  of  love.  When  our  streets  are  undergoing 
repairs,  lights  are  hung  around  the  openings  made. 
These  are  signals  of  danger.  They  are  erected  in  love. 
Parents  are  loving,  when  they  say,  ''  My  child,  there  is 
danger  there.  Go  not  near.  Avoid  that  place.  Pass 
not  near  it."  So  Christ  did  not,  in  a  ve»'y  true  sense, 
create  hell ;  He  revealed  it.  It  existed  before  He  came. 
It  would  have  existed  had  He  never  come.  He  revealed 
it.  He  warned  us  against  it.  He  provided  a  way  of 
escape  from  it.  In  all  honesty  and  love,  and  with  a 
tremendous  earnestness,  He  warned  us  of  our  great"  dan- 


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176 


CUillST,    AND    IllM    CRUCIFIiiD. 


ger.  It  was  with  such  feelings  He  said,  *^  Then  shall 
He  say  also  unto  them  on  the  left  hand,  Depart  from 
Me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  lire,  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  his  angels"  (Matt.  25  :  41).  *'  And  these  shall  go 
away  into  everlasting  punishment  :  but  the  righteous 
into  life  eternal"  (Matt.  25  :  46).  In  Mark  9  :  43,  44, 
Christ  says  :  **  It  is  better  for  thee  to  enter  into  life 
maimed,  than  having  two  hands  to  go  into  hell,  into  the 
fire  that  never  shall  be  quenched  :  Where  their  worm 
dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched."  Attention  has 
been  called  to  the  fact  that  these  awful  words  are  uttered 
three  times  by  our  loving  Lord  in  a  single  discourse,  as 
recorded  in  this  chapter.  In  Matt.  8  :  19 ,  we  read, 
**  Bat  the  children  of  the  kingdom  shall  bo  cast  out  into 
outer  darkness  :  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth."  In  Matt.  13  :  42,  we  have  the  expression, 
*'  And  shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of  fire  :  there  shall 
be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth."  Luke  If)  :  24,  *'  I 
am  tormented  in  this  flame, '^  expresses  the  misery  of 
the  lost.  In  John  3  :  30,  we  have,  '^  He  that  believeth 
on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life  :  and  he  that  believeth 
not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God 
abideth  on  him."  Paul  teaclies  us,  2  Tliess.  1  :  9, 
that  there  are  those  *'  Who  shall  be  punished  with  ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and 
from  the  glory  of  His  power."  In  J-ude,  sixth  verse, 
we  read  of  the  angels  which  kept  not  their  first  estate, 
thut  Dmy  are  '^  reserved  in  everlasting  chains  under  dark- 
ness iiniit  the  judgment  of  the  great  day."  In  Rev.  14  : 
JO,  11,  '*  The  same  shall  drink  of  the  wine  of  tlie  wrath  of 
0/;d,  w\ii('Ai  is  poured  out  without  mixture  into  the  cup  of 
liis  indignation  ;  and  he  shall  be  tormented  with  fire  and 
brimstone  in  the  presence  of  the  holy  angels  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  Lamb.     And  the  smoke  of  their  torment 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT — WHAT? 


177 


ascendeth  up  forever  and  ever,  and  they  have  no  r^st  day 
nor  night." 

IT   IS    ASSUMED    ALSO. 

It  is  said  of  Judas  that  it  had  been  better  for  him  had 
he  never  been  born.  This  implies  that  his  punishment 
would  be  eternal.  For  if  there  should  come  a  time, 
even  after  ages  of  suffering,  when  he  should  be  admitted 
to  the  unspeakable  and  endless  bliss  of  heaven,  then  ex- 
istence would  be  a  blessing.  The  blessings  of  that 
heaven  would  infinitely  overbalance  the  miseries  of  hell 
for  a  limited  time.  Of  one  wicked  man,  at  least,  we 
know  that  his  sufferings  are  endless  ;  if  of  one,  why  not 
of  all  wicked  men  ?  Of  one  class  of  sins  it  is  positively 
affirmed  that  there  is  no  forgiveness,  either  in  this  world, 
or  in  that  which  is  to  come.  That  does  not  imply  that 
in  the  world  to  come  there  is  forgiveness  for  any  sins. 
It  is  a  strong  expression  to  assure  us  that  there  is  no 
forgiveness  anywhere  for  the  sin  in  question.  So  also  is 
the  account  of  Lazarus  and  the  rich  man.  That  parable 
or  history  proves  that  there  is  a  place  of  torment,  a  hell  ; 
that  men  consciously  endure  indescribable  sufferings,  that 
these  sufferings  cannot  be  alleviated,  and  that  no  further 
warnings  will  be  given  than  are  given  by  Moses  and  the 
prophets.  These  truths,  and  others  also,  are  clearly 
taught. 

It  h  claimed,  however,  that  the  word  '^everlasting'* 
is  sometimes  used  of  limited  duration.  We  grant  it. 
But  when  it  is  applied  to  a  limited  duration,  it  is  still  a 
dnratioii  whose  termin/ition  is  unknown.  It  is,  there- 
fore, pranticaily  a  JhnitleHS  duration,  even  when  applied 
to  »ijiiferial  thln^j^s,  m  **  ev/irlasting  hills."  When  ap- 
phod  to  lifjinaterlal  thj//g«,  Its  irioanin^  must  accord  with 
the  nature  of  the  things  to  whh'h  it  is  applied.     When 


lOR 


178 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


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we  have  no  authority,  either  in  the  nature  of  things  or 
from  any  other  source,  to  hmit  its  meaning,  it  is  to  be 
taken  in  its  full  literal  sense.  .  Dr.  G.  W.  Clark,  in  his 
commentary  on  our  text,  tells  us  tliat  the  word  aionios, 
translated  in  one  clause  of  the  text,  everlasting,  and  in 
the  other,  eternal,  is  used  in  the  IN'ew  Testament  seventy- 
one  times.  Three  times  it  refers  to  the  long  indefinite 
past.  (Rom.  16  :  25  ;  2  Tim.  1  :  9,  where  the  phrase 
is  translated  "  before  the  world  began,"  and  Titus  1  :  2.) 
Twice  it  is  applied  to  complete  eternity  without  begin- 
ning or  end,  once  of  God,  once  of  the  Spirit  which  was 
in  Christ,  and  fifty-one  times  to  the  future  happiness  of 
the  righteous.  Seven  times  it  is  used  to  describe  the 
future  misery  of  the  wicked,  and  in  the  remaining  cases 
it  involves  the  idea  of  an  unending  future. 

But  the  Bible  is  not  confined  to  this  word.  Lest  some 
might  claim  that  it  is  ambiguous,  Christ  gives  us  many 
instances  of  such  language  as  we  have  before  quoted, 
fire  that  is  unquenchable,  worm  that  never  dies,  fire  that 
ascendeth  forever  and  ever,  and  many  other  phrases  of 
like  import.  The  Greek  language,  with  all  its  marvel- 
lous exactness  and  facility  of  expressing  shades  of  mean- 
ing, possesses  no  more  emphatic  words  to  express  the 
idea  of  endless  duration  than  the  words  which  are  em- 
ployed to  describe  the  punishment  of  the  wicked.  If 
Christ  ever  meant  to  teach  this  doctrine.  He  uses  in  the 
text,  and  elsewhere,  the  very  words  to  express  it.  If 
these  words  do  not  teach  it,  it  cannot  be  taught.  Grant, 
for  the  moment,  that  Christ  intended  to  teach  it  ;  He 
knew  the  language  He  used  ;  He  was  familiar  with  all 
iis  shades  of  meaning.  Suppose  that  you  wished  to  teach 
it,  and  were  equally  familiar  with  the  language,  I  r«:?r;er*. 
that  you  would  use  precisely  the  language  whica  Christ 
has  used.     Christ  knew  well,  when  He  utter?d  the  t  ixt,. 


n 


FUTURE    PUNISHMENT— WHAT? 


179 


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tn- 

If 
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If 


that  the  great  majority  of  men  would  understand  Him 
to  teach  this  doctrine.  If  He  did  not  mean  to  teach  it, 
He  has  knowingly  led  thousands  into  grievous  error. 
Tliis  we  cannot  believe  of  the  great  Teacher.  He  would 
not  produce  unnecessary  fear  and  terror.  He  would  not 
mislead.  The  word  used  in  the  text  to  describe  the  per- 
petuity of  the  misery  of  the  wicked  is  in  the  original 
precisely  the  same  as  that  which  expresses  the  unending 
happiness  o^  the  righteous.  If  one  is  limited  in  dura- 
tion, so  must  the  other  be  limited.  The  proof  that  the 
righteous  will  be  forever  happy  rests  on  precisely  the 
same  ground  as  that  the  wicked  will  be  forever  miser- 
able. Close  hill  and  you  must  close  heaven  also.  The 
logic  that  ends  either  ends  both.  Are  wc  prepared  for 
this  conclusion  ? 

I  affirm  that  there  is  notMng  in  the  Scriptures  which 
even  remotely  suggests — far  less  declares — that  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  lost  shall  ever  have  an  end.  All  our  rea- 
soning of  the  permanence  of  character  and  the  increasing 
ratio  of  evil  is  along  the  same  line  and  leads  to  the  same 
conclusion.  Before  these  plain  and  solemn  truths  of 
God's  immutable  Word  we  bow  in  submission  and  awe, 
saying,  **  Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  Thy 
sight."" 

TO    CONCLUDE. 

On  this  whole  subject  I  would  say,  first,  God  sends  no 
man  to  perdition.  Mr.  Beecher,  in  his  recent  strmon, 
put  up  a  man  of  straw.  He  attacked  him  vigorously  ; 
he  trampled  on  him  triumphantly.  But  after  all,  he 
was  only  a  man  of  straw.  We  know  no  such  conception 
of  God  as  that  preacher  ascribed  to  the  orthodox.  His 
severe  asseverations  were  needless,  not  to  say  more. 
The  Bible  nowhere  represents  God  as  sending  men  to 


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CHRIST,    AND  HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


hell.  We  know  no  orthodox  preacher  who  so  pi  ^ents 
God.  God  offers  life  ;  men  choose  death  !  God  Cc.nTint 
put  men  by  physical  force  into  heaven.  It  would  not 
be  heaven  to  men  entering  it  in  that  way.  If  all  hell 
were  transferred  to-night  to  heaven,  it  would  still  be 
hell.  The  ruffian  from  the  street,  or  the  vile  saloon, 
would  find  the  sweetest  prayer  meeting  ever  held  a  very 
dull  and  stupid  place.  He  would  long  for  his  revelries  and 
debaucheries.  Such  a  man,  if  taken  to  heaven,  would 
find  it  an  utterly  intolerable  place.  Take  a  savage  into 
your  library  and  drawing-room,  show  him  your  treasures 
of  art  and  j^our  gems  of  literature  ;  and  the  man  will  be 
inexpressibly  miserable.  He  needs  a  change  of  taste.  He 
needs  conversion.  Do  you  love  Christ  now  ?  Are  His 
presence  and  His  service  irksome  to  you  now  ?  What, 
I  ask,  would  you  do  in  heaven  ?  It  would  be  hell  to 
you.  It  is  merciful  in  God  to  banish  from  His  presence 
those  who  hate  Him.  There  is  no  heaven  anywhere  for 
a  man  who  hates  God.  God  cannot  make  a  heaven  for 
such  a  man.  There  is  no  hell  anywhere  for  a  man  who 
loves  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  devil  cannot  make  a  hell  for 
such  a  man.  If  we  can  imagine  such  a  man's  going  to 
hell,  it  would  cease  to  be  such  to  him,  and  would  be- 
come heaven.  A  man  who  hates  God  has  the  beginnings 
of  hell  in  him  now,  as  Milton's  Satan  says, 

"  Which  way  I  tly  is  hell  ;  myself  am  hoU." 

An  ungodly  man  carries  hell  in  his  heart.  He  cannot 
get  away  from  himself.  God  cannot  help  him  except 
he  comes  to  God's  terms.  This  is  true — every  man  will 
go  where  in  his  deepest  nature  he  desires  to  go.  That 
statement  will  bear  examination.  Do  you  say  no  man 
desires  to  go  to  hell  ?  I  tell  you  thousands  desire  to  live 
a  life  which  iriuptend  in  hell.    Look  at  their  lives.    They 


FUTURE   PUNISHMENT— WHAT? 


181 


il 


are  in  it,  so  far  as  is  possible,  now.  Look  at  their  haunts. 
Look  at  their  hearts.  They  love  sin.  They  must  reap 
its  fruit.  What  men  sow  they  reap.  They  must  not 
expect  to  sow  the  seeds  of  vice  and  reap  the  fruits  of 
virtue.  Many  a  man  desires  the  honors  of  wealth,  but 
is  not  willing  to  make  the  necessary  sacrifice  to  earn  it. 
Then  he  in  his  deepest  nature  does  not  desire  wealth. 
He  likes  ease  better.  Many  a  man  would  like  the  fame 
of  learning  ;  he  is  not  willing  to  pay  the  price  in  honest 
work.  Then  he  does  not  desire  learning  so  much  as  ease. 
Friends,  if  you  are  lost  you  will  have  committed  moral 
suicide.  Remorse  will  sting  you  forever.  "  It  might 
have  been,'*  will,  indeed,  be  to  you  "  the  saddest  words 
of  tongue  or  pen."  Men  and  women,  be  wise  to-night. 
You  like  sin  now  ;  you  will  mourn  its  fruits  one  day. 
Will  you  be  among  those  who  pray  for  the  rocks  and 
mountains  to  fall  upon  them,  and  to  hide  thoin  from  the 
face  of  Him  who  sits  upon  the  throne  ?  The  great  day 
of  His  wrath  is  coming  ;  will  you  be  able  to  stand  ? 
The  old  colored  woman  was  right.  Li  anKvv(M-  to  the 
flippant  objection  that  there  was  not  brimstone  enough 
to  burn  the  wicked,  she  eaid  to  the  objector,  "  Yuu  take 
your  brimstone  along  with  you."     It  is  true. 

Let  me  say,  again,  no  man  in  perdition  will  suffer 
more  than  he  has  merited.  The  sufferings  will  be  inde- 
scribably great  ;  but  they  will  be  proportioned  to  men's 
deserts.  Those  who  have  sinned  under  the  law,  will  be 
judged  aaid  punished  by  the  law.  Those  who  have  sinned 
without  the  law,  shall  be  judged  without  law.  Those 
who  knew  their  Master's  will,  and  did  it  not,  slmll  be 
beaten  with  many  stripes.  Those  wlio  knew  it  not  with 
few  stripes.  Punishment  is  not  a  matter  from  the  out- 
side so  much  as  from  the  inside.  You  cannot  punish  an 
kmoceat  man.    You  cannot  help  punishing  a  guilty  man. 


!.'' 


I     ; 

If  ;!  K 


CHRIST,    AN'D   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 

All  who  shall  be  lost  know  thoy  are  guilty.  Their 
mouths  will  be  stopped  before  God.  The  heathen  can- 
not be  punished  for  not  believing  in  a  Saviour  of  whom 
they  have  not  heard.  Theirs  is  a  different  standard  ;  by 
that  they  will  be  judged.  According  to  it  their  punish- 
ment will  be.  But  how  terrible  will  be  the  guilt  of  those 
who  reject  Christ!  Are  you  doing  it  ?  Hell  was  pre- 
pared for  the  devil  and  his  angels.  If  you  belong  to 
Satan,  you  must  dwell  with  his  fnmily. 

Once  more  :  pardon  is  here  and  now,  on  the  authority 
of  God,  fully  and  freely  offered  to  all.  Do  you  shrink 
from  the  thought  of  God's  inflicting  eternal  punishment 
on  the  ungodly  ?  Are  you  wiser,  are  you  more  loving 
than  God  ?  Compared  with  His  love  a  mother's  is  *'  as 
moonlight  unto  sunlight,  as  water  unto  wine."  He  gave 
the  Son  of  His  love  to  save  you.  Would  you  know  your 
soul's  danger  and  worth  ?  Would  you  know  God's  love 
and  mercy  ?  Then  stand  beneath  die  cross  of  Calvary. 
See  the  sun  veiling  His  face  in  mourning.  Observe  the 
quaking  eartli,  shaking  as  if  its  heart  were  breaking. 
See  God's  Beloved  dying  for  you.  Oh,  matchless  love  ; 
oh,  boundless  pity  ;  how  terrible  is  my  sin  ;  how  mar- 
vellous is  God's  love  !  Hear  the  voice  of  your  God,  as 
lie  warns  and  entreats  yon  :  ''Why  will  ye  die,  O  house 
of  Israel  ?  For  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  him 
that  dieth,  saith  the  Lord  God  :  wherefore  turn  your- 
selves and  live  ye."  "  I^et  the  wicked  forsake  his  way 
.  .  .  and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord,  .  .  .  for  He 
will  abundantly  pardon."  lie  urges  us  to  reason  with 
Hitn,  and  promises  to  make  our  scarlet  sins  white  as  snow, 
and  our  crimson  sins  like  wool.  lie  exhausts  Himself  in 
threatening  and  entreaties.  Christ  invites  "  all,"  "  Who- 
soever," "If  any  man" — that  includes  you  all  now. 
What  more  can  He  say  and  do  i     Will  vqu  still  trar/>oJl9 


FUTURE    PUKISIIMENT— WHAT? 


183 


lin 


on  the  offers  of  mere;;  and  the  blood  of  Calvary  on  your 
way  to  perdition  ?  You  cannot  pass  down  these  aisles 
without  either  accepting  or  rejecting  Citrist.  There  lie 
stands  I  You  are  diseased.  Ho  is  the  divine  Physiciiin. 
Ho  holds  out  the  remedy.  See  His  hands.  Each  palm 
bears  the  priut  of  a  nail.  The  spear- wound  is  in  His 
side.  He  steps  across  the  aisle.  I  put  the  question  : 
**  What  will  ye  do  with  Jesus,  who  is  called  Christ  ?" 
You  say,  Nothing.  Stop  I  Not  to  accept  Him  is  to  re- 
ject Him.  Will  you  do  it  again  ?  Behold  the  Lily  of 
the  Valley.  See  the  Plant  of  Renown.  The  odor  fills 
the  room.  It  comes  to  your  senses.  It  may  to-night  be 
the  savor  of  life  unto  life,  or  of  death  unto  death.  Which 
will  it  be  ?  You  are  transacting  business  for  God  and 
eternity.  The  righteous  spoken  of  in  the  text — Who  are 
they  ?  "  These  are  they  which  came  out  of  great  tribu- 
lation, and  have  washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  The  fountain  is  still  open. 
Wash  and  be  made  white  as  snow.  This  large  congrega- 
tion will  now  separate.  We  go  out  under  God's  stars. 
We  shall  never  all  meet  again  until  we  meet  at  the  bar 
of  God. 

I  have  tried  to  speak  faithfully  and  tenderly,  f'lip- 
pancy  or  severity  ought  to  have  no  place  here.  By  the 
terrors  of  the  Lord  I  wouLl  persuade  you  ;  by  the  mer- 
cies of  God  I  would  draw  you  ;  by  the  agony  of  Geth- 
eemane  and  the  breaking  heart  of  Calvary  I  would  win 
you  to  Jesus  and  heaven  to-night.  If  you  turn  not,  you 
shall  die  in  your  sin.  Why  will  ye  die  ?  Now  accept 
the  offer  of  God's  mercy,  and  at  the  last  you  shall  share 
in  His  glory. 


o- 


XV. 


14 


I 

I 


fif 

mi  ' 

I  ■  ii. 


I  i 


r  «« 


P 


BANDS  OF  LOVE. 

"  I  drew  them  with  oords  of  a  man,  with  bands  of  love." — Hobea 
11  : 4. 

If  yon  look  for  a  morrjent  at  the  context,  you  will  see 
that  God  18  here  expofitulating  with  Israel  because  of 
their  rebellion  against  Him.  He  had  been  very  gracious 
to  Israel ;  He  had  not  dealt  so  with  any  people  under 
heaven.  When  they  first  began  to  multiply  into  a  na- 
tion in  Egypt,  He  set  His  love  upon  them.  When  fret- 
ful and  froward  as  children,  He  still  bore  with  them  and 
loved  them.  With  a  high  hand  and  outstretched  arm  He 
delivered  them  from  the  house  of  bondage.  By  marvel- 
lous displays  of  His  goodness  and  greatness  He  fed  them 
with  manna  in  the  wilderness,  and  brought  them  in 
safety  to  the  land  of  promise.  Out  of  Egypt  He  called 
His  Son.  This  was  historically  true  of  the  children  of 
Israel  ;  it  was  also  prophetic  of  Him  who  was  their  Lord 
and  ours.  In  this  verse  and  the  preceding  one,  we  have 
two  homely,  but  expressive  figures  illustrative  of  God's 
loving-kindness  and  tender  mercy  toward  Israel.  The 
first  is  drawn  from  the  nursery.  Israel  is  thought  of  as 
a  child  in  leading-strings,  and  God  as  the  gentle  nurse. 
The  nurse  is  at  one  end  of  the  string,  the  child  at  the 
other.  The  trembling,  tottering  child  is  encouraged  to 
venture  out  and  walk  forward,  because  of  the  strong 
hand  and  loving  heart  which  are  thus  guiding  and  sup- 
porting.    The  remaining  figure  is  equally  homely  and 


i  ,' 


BANDS   OF   LOVE. 


185 


expressive,  and  to  an  agricnltnral  people  must  have  bown 
profoundly  significant.  The  picture  suggested  is  that  of 
the  careful  husbandman  moving  or  pulling  forward  the 
yoke  or  collar  from  the  heated  necks  of  the  weary  ani- 
mals*. The  design  is  to  let  the  cooling  air  in  between 
the  collar  and  the  neck.  Otherwise,  the  neck  might  be 
scalded  and  the  skin  be  removed.  At  the  end  of  tlie 
furrow  the  ploughman  docs  this  when  the  cattle  stop  a 
moment  to  take  breath.  Tho  bridle  is  removed  from 
their  jaws  and  a  handful  of  grass  is  given  to  refri  sli  the 
weary  animals  as  they  turn  to  follow  thu  next  furrow. 
So  God  removed  yokes  from  the  necks  of  ITi-  people  ; 
so  God  furnished  refreshment  for  them  if)  their  weary 
way.  By  these  two  figures  lie  pets  before  us  His  pa- 
tience and  thoughtfulness  toward  His  ancient  people, 
and  toward  His  true  children  still. 

But  this  morning  I  confine  your  thought  to  the  first 
clause  of  the  verse — the  first  figure  here  described.  It 
teaches  us  God's  method  of  leadim  men  into  Ills  king- 
dom, and  leading  them  forward  to  the  service  and  en- 
joyment of  His  Church. 


li 


THE   DIVINE   DRAWING. 


1.  We  learn,  then,  in  the  first  place,  that  God  draws 
men  into  His  kingdom.  It  cannot  be  too  strongly  em- 
phasized that  this  is  God's  work.  Christ  tails  us  that  no 
man  can  come  to  Him  except  the  Father  draw  him. 
This  language  of  Christ  teaches  us  both  the  necessity  of 
such  divine  drawing  and  also  its  actual  existence.  Man's 
inability  is  not  physical.  It  is  a  disinclination  of  his 
proud  will  and  stubborn  hpart.  It  is  well  for  us  to  learn 
at  the  outset  our  utter  helplessness.  Only  as  we  learn 
that  lesson  can  we  avail  ourselves  of  the  divine  helpful- 


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186 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


ness.  Men  will  not  cry  to  God  for  help  until  they  realize 
that  all  other  help  has  utterly  failed  them.  To  the 
proud-hearted  no  lesson  is  more  needed,  no  lesson  is  more 
helpful  than  this  very  humbling  one.  Men  evermore 
wish  to  save  themselves  in  their  own  way.  The  father 
of  the  lunatic  boy  cried  unto  Christ.  "  Lord,  have  mercy 
on  my  son  !"  He  identified  his  case  with  that  of  his 
son. 

This  is  an  opportune  lesson  for  parents  to  learn.  All 
other  help  had  failed  him.  He  could  then  fill  his  mouth 
with  arguments  ;  his  prayer  was  answered  ;  his  son  re- 
stored, and  our  Lord  was  glorified.  When  Peter  realized 
that  he  was  sinking  amid  the  waves  of  the  Galilean  Sea, 
he  called  out,  **  Lord,  save  me."  Then  the  strong  aim 
of  Christ  interposed,  and  the  sinking  disciple  was  pre- 
served. All  night  Jacob  wrestled  with  the  unknown 
Stranger.  If  there  was  anything  for  which  Jacob  was 
remarkable,  it  was  his  self  reliance.  His  very  name, 
Jacob,  is  illustrative  of  his  confidence  in  his  own  wits. 
His  subsequent  history  justified  the  significance  of  his 
name.  He  was  the  heel-catcher,  the  tripper-up,  the 
Bupplanter.  All  through  his  relations  with  Laban  his 
confidence  in  his  own  sagacity  never  deserts  him. 
Neither  does  it  novv  at  this  crisis  of  his  life  on  the  banks 
of  the  brook  Jabbok.  Carefully  he  lays  his  plans,  skil- 
fully does  he  arrange  his  fiocks  and  herds  and  family, 
and  now  alone  in  the  darkness  the  Unknown  One  ap- 
proaclies  him.  Instantly  the  old  Jacob  is  aroused.  He 
relies  upon  himself  ;  he  will  fight  it  out  on  that  line  all 
night,  but  when  the  morning  dawns  he  has  not  prevailed. 
Now  the  Unknown  One  touches  his  thigh,  the  pillar  of 
the  wrestler's  strength.  Now  Jacob  is  weakness  itself. 
No  longer  does  he  resist.  He  clings  to  the  Stranger. 
He  entreats  His  help.     His  weakness  is  his  mightiest 


BANDS   OF   LOVE. 


187 


plea.  lie  prevails  in  weakness.  Though  helpless  he  is 
strong,  and  his  significant  name  in  future  shall  be  Israel, 
not  Jacob  ;  prevailer  with  God,  not  the  supplanter  of 
men.  In  the  crisis  of  every  human  life  there  comes, 
in  a  more  or  less  marked  form,  the  experience  of  Jacob. 
Happy  is  that  man  who  relies  on  God  in  his  own  utter 
helplessness,  and  out  of  his  weakness  cries  to  God  for 
help.  We  ought  not,  however,  to  forget  that  this  help- 
lessness does  not  destroy  responsibility.  Many  men  have 
erred  on  this  point.  They  have  spoken  as  if  God  was 
responsible  for  their  weakness,  and  as  if  no  responsibility 
rested  upon  them.  They  have  said  tliat  they  must  wait 
God's  time.  This  is  an  abuse  of  the  doctrine  of  de- 
pendence. 

We  cannot  think  of  human  weakness  aright  except  as 
we  put  over  against  it  God's  divine  provision  for  human 
wants.  This  is  brought  out  in  a  striking  passage  of 
Scripture,  which  says,  **  Let  him  take  hold  of  My 
strength  that  he  may  make  peace  with  Me,  and  he  shall 
make  peace  with  Me."  You  send  a  letter  by  a  messen- 
ger to  a  friend  in  Brooklyn.  He  returns  in  a  little  time 
without  having  delivered  his  message.  He  tells  you  that 
the  river  is  deep  and  broad,  and  the  current  is  strong,  that 
he  cannot  swim,  and  there  is  no  bridge  over  which  he  may 
pass.*  Do  you  excuse  him  ?  Is  that  apology  accepted  ? 
You  recognize  the  truth  of  his  statement,  but  you  at  once 
ask,  Was  there  no  ferry  ?  Of  this  means  of  transit  he 
ought  to  have  availed  himself.  You  hold  him  responsi- 
ble ;  you  rebuke  him  for  his  failure  ;  you  almost  despise 
him  for  his  stupidity.  While  between  us  and  perfect 
obedience  to  God  there  flows  an  impassable  river,  God 
has  provided,  if  we  may  so  say,  a  divine  ferry,  and  while 


;(:] 


The  Bridge  was  not  built  when  this  sermon  was  preached. 


188 


CHRIST,    AXD   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


we  acknowledge  our  own  helplessness,  we  must  avail  our- 
selves of  God's  method  of  deliverance. 

There  is  a  divine  drawing.  Of  this  truth  reasonable 
mta  have  no  dor.bt.  God  is  drawing  by  the  still  small 
voice  of  His  Spirit.  God  is  also  drawing  by  the  thun- 
ders of  His  power.  Men  say  that  they  will  wait  God's 
time,  and  God  at  the  same  moment  declares,  ''  Now  is 
the  accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation."  God's 
drawing  is  governed  by  the  character  of  the  persons  or 
objects  to  be  drawn.  Yesterday  I  stood  watching  the 
workmen  engaged  upon  our  new  church  building.  A 
huge  block  of  stone  was  to  be  removed.  The  ropes  and 
chains  were  fastened,  a  boy  touched  a  handle  governing 
the  power  of  the  steam  derrick  ;  now  the  stone  moves 
uneasily  in  its  bed  ;  now  it  rises  into  the  air  ;  and  now 
it  is  swung  to  the  opposite  side,  and  slowly  and  gently 
deposited  in  the  desired  place.  Here  was  a  physical 
substance.  To  remove  it  a  physical  power  was  required. 
Physical  power  was  applied.  But  man  is  not  a  thing. 
God  does  not  so  treat  him.  He  will  not  violate  the  laws 
which  He  Himself  has  established.  He  might  break  down 
every  form  of  resistance  bv  displays  of  His  power,  but  this 
is  not  His  method.  He  stands  at  the  doer  of  the  heart  and 
knocks.  He  knocks  at  the  door  of  faith,  and  hope,  and 
love,  and  reason.  With  one  blow  He  might  shatter  the 
door  and  destroy  the  whole  structure.  He  will  not  strike 
that  blow.  He  i'espects  the  laws  of  being  which  He  Him- 
self has  ordained.  He  is  the  Sovereign,  and  we  know  it. 
He  has  made  us  free,  and  we  know  it.  He  will  not  en- 
croach upon  the  divinely-given  freedom.  Involuntary 
obedience  is  not  obedience.  We  are  to  ba  willing  in  the 
day  of  His  power.  He  regards  us  as  possessed  of  reason, 
and  He  plies  that  reason  with  argument.  His  own  language 
is,  "  Come,  let  us  reason  together."    He  condescends  to 


BANDS   OF   LOVE. 


189 


submit  His  claims  to  our  reason.  lie  regards  the  affec- 
tions which  He  Himself  lias  imparted.  He  strives  to 
call  out  these  affections  toward  Himself.  He  addresses 
appeals  to  conscience.  In  all  these  ways  God  honors  the 
laws  with  which  He  has  endowed  us.  The  bolts  on  the 
heart's  door  are  on  the  inside.  You  must  recognize  the 
divine  drawing  and  rise  and  pull  back  the  bolts.  It  is 
man's  glory  that  he  is  so  endowed.  But  this  is  a  sublime 
and  solemn  inheritance.  If  men  in  this  dignity  of  their 
own  yield  to  God,  a  glorious  future  is  assured  ;  if  they 
refuse  to  admit  Him,  their  glory  becomes  their  shame, 
and  their  possible  dignity  becomes  their  certain  destruc- 
tion. 

I  beseech  you  that  you  trifle  not  with  this  divine 
drawing.  From  childhood  to  this  very  hour  God  has 
been  speaking  to  some  of  you.  He  has  spoken  in  sun- 
shine and  storms,  in  sorrow  and  joy,  in  life  and  death — 
you  have  still  refused  to  listen.  You  have  despised  alike 
His  invitations  and  threatenings.  la  His  name  I  to-day 
warn  you  not  longer  to  resist.  You  do  it  at  your  peril. 
Your  heart  is  growing  harder  ;  your  will  more  stubborn. 
Your  conscience  will  soon  be  seared.  God  will  not  be 
mocked.  The  hour  will  soon  come  when  you  will  call 
and  He  will  not  hear,  when  He  will  laugh  at  your  calam- 
ity, and  mock  when  your  fear  cometh.  I  must  press 
these  considerations  ;  my  heart  longs  for  your  salvation. 
It  asks  once  more  the  solemn  question,  Are  you  yielding 
your  hearts  to  this  divine  drawing  ?  It  comes  to  you 
gently  as  the  falling  dew  ;  it  comes  to  you  in  prosperity 
and  adversity  ;  it  comes  to  you  in  the  new-born  child  ; 
it  comes  to  you  in  the  messenger  of  death  that  carries 
your  darling  from  your  home  and  your  heart.  I  beseech 
you  to-day  quench  not  the  Spirit ;  resist  not  this  divine 
drawing ;  refuse  not  the  voice  of  Him  that   speakeVx. 


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CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


Despise  not  the  lore  that  has  sought  you  all  these  years, 
and  the  grace  which  would  win  you  to  Jesus  Christ.  If 
you  reject  this  divine  drawing  you  despise  the  only 
means  of  salvation.  You  trample  under  foot  the  blood 
of  His  covenant.  The  heart  will  grow  harder,  the  will 
more  stubborn,  and  the  sensibilities  more  dead  until  you 
may  reach  that  condition  that  the  apostle  describes  as 
being  "  past  feeling."  In  the  name  of  all  that  js  glori- 
ous in  manhood,  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  tender  in  the 
divine  love,  and  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  blessed  in  the 
future,  I  beseech  you  to  bow  at  the  feet  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  this  morning  ! 

THE    HUMAN   CORD. 

2.  The  text  teaches,  in  the  second  place,  that  God 
draws  with  cords  of  a  man.  This  thought  I  have  al- 
ready touched  upon  in  speaking  of  the  divine  drawing. 
It  is  worthy,  however,  of  fuller  exposition  and  greater 
emphasis.  While  God  alone  can  impart  the  power.  Ho 
uses  human  instruments.  He  uses  men,  not  angels,  to 
carry  forward  the  triumphs  of  His  kingdom.  The  high- 
est angel  which  bows  before  His  throne  would  esteem  it 
an  honor  to  be  sent  as  a  messenger  of  salvation,  as  an  am- 
bassador for  Christ ;  but  angels  are  not  sent.  This  work 
is  committed  to  men.  Christ  became  a  man  that  He 
might  redeem  men.  He  submitted  to  the  law  that  He 
might  redeem  those  who  were  under  the  law.  He  must 
assume  the  nature  which  He  came  to  deliver  ;  He  must 
insert  Himself  into  our  humanity  at  itr  lowest  and 
weakest  point  that  He  may  lift  it  up  into  beauty  and 
glory.  All  through  the  history  of  the  race  we  see  this 
prominence  given  to  human  instrumentality. 

This  union  of  divine  power  and  human  instrumeutali- 


BANDS  OF   LOVE. 


191 


tj  18  everywhere  seen  in  tlie  "Word  of  God.  Only  God 
could  open  the  way  for  Ilia  people  through  the  Red  Sea  ; 
but  Moses  must  stretch  his  rod  across  the  waters.  Only 
God  could  cause  the  sparkling  waters  to  come  from  flinty 
rocks  ;  but  Moses  must  strike  the  rock  with  the  divinely- 
appointed  instrument.  Only  Christ  could  cause  the  dead 
Lazarus  to  come  forth  ;  but  human  hands  must  remove 
the  stone.  Only  Christ  could  change  the  water  into 
wine  ;  but  servants  can  fill  the  water-pots  with  water, 
and  between  the  filling  and  the  drawing  the  divine 
power  comes  down,  and  "  the  conscious  water  saw  its 
God  and  blushed."  What  we  can  do,  that  we  must  do. 
God  will  never  do  for  us  what  we  can  do  for  ourselves. 
God  never  wastes  power.  For  wise  purposes  He  intro- 
duced miracles,  but  they  are  ever  kept  at  the  lowest 
possible  point.  It  is  simply  sublime  to  see  how  God 
honors  man  in  the  carrying  out  of  His  divine  purposes. 
In  every  crisis  God  has  His  man  ready  to  come  forward, 
perform  his  work,  and  honor  His  great  name.  When 
Israel  is  to  be  led  out  of  Egypt  God  has  His  Moses.  By 
forty  years'  learning  in  the  courts  of  Egypt,  and  by  forty 
years  more  in  the  silence  of  the  desert  and  in  communion 
with  God,  Moses  is  trained  for  his  grand  work.  When 
Moses  lays  down  the  honor  of  leadership,  God  hag  a 
Joshua,  courageous  and  strong,  to  lead  His  people  on 
through  trial  to  triumph.  When  the  Philistines  were  to 
be  destroyed  God  sent  Samson  into  the  conflict.  David 
comes  forward  with  cords  to  bind  the  kingdom  into  unity 
and  power.  When  he  lays  down  the  sceptre  Solomon  is 
ready  to  carry  forward  his  work  to  a  greater  height  of 
national  glory.  When  the  enemy  seemed  to  have  trium- 
phed and  every  knee  to  have  bowed  to  Baal,  God  had 
His  Elijah,  fierce  and  strong,  to  stand  for  the  right  and 
to  rebuke  the  wrong  ;  and  by  the  cords  of  a  man  God 


■v^n 


102 


CHUI8T,   AND   HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


held  back  the  evil  and  led  the  right  into   light   and  tri- 
umph. 

The  same  truth  is  illustrated  in  later  days.  When  the 
Gospel  was  to  be  carried  to  the  Gentiles,  God  had  a  man 
in  readiness.  First  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel  and  afterward 
in  the  deserts  of  Arabia,  God  was  training  the  noblest 
man  of  the  early  Church,  and,  in  many  respects,  the 
greatest  man  the  world  has  ever  seen.  No  other  of  the 
college  of  apostles,  except  Paul,  had  grasp  of  mind  and 
energy  of  purpose  sufficient  to  accomplish  this  work. 
When  great  doctrines  were  to  be  formulated,  God  had 
His  Augustine,  trained  in  the  schools  of  philosophy,  a 
teacher  of  rhetoric,  and  a  man  of  eloquence,  raised  up  to 
declare  these  great  truths.  There  were  reformers  before 
the  Reformation,  it  is  said,  nevertheless  the  Refonnation 
gave  us  only  one  Luther.  There  were  great  scholars, 
but  Calvin  stands  peerless  in  his  time.  When  the  whole 
Church  slumbered  under  a  dead  orthodoxy  then  God 
raised  up  Wesley  and  Whiteifield,  whose  voices  thrilled 
England  and  America,  and  whose  influence  will  be  felt 
to  the  end  of  time.  The  same  truths  are  illustrated  in 
our  own  day.  God  is  still  drawing  the  world  to  Himself 
by  the  cords  of  men.  Christ  said  :"  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up 
from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  Me."  An  up- 
lifted Christ  is  the  mightiest  magnet  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  He  is  gloriously  uplifted  to-day,  and  lost  men  and 
women  are  drawn  unto  Him.  The  Gospel  never  was  a 
greater  power  than  it  is  to-day.  Oh,  that  God  would 
give  us  power  to  draw  souls  to  Himself  I  This  is  the 
noblest  earthly  ambition.  Teachers,  win  your  classes  to 
Jesus.  Parents,  cease  not  to  labor  and  pray  for  the 
children  God  has  given  you.  God  Almighty,  give  every 
preacher  in  our  broad  land  cords  of  a  man  and  bands  of 
love  ! 


BANDS  OF  LOVE. 


193 


5r 


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o 

0 


BAND3    OF    LOVK. 

3.  Tho  text  teacliGB  us,  in  the  tliirJ  place,  that  those 
who  possess  this  drawing-power  are  furnished  with  bands 
of  love.  All  men  are  not  suited  to  this  work  ;  all  sorts 
of  cords  will  not  do  it.  The  word  rendered  *'  bands"  is 
a  much  stronger  word  than  that  translated  *'  cords."  It 
means  cart-ropes.  Cart-ropes  of  love  have  a  marvellous 
drawing-power.  God  does  not  drive  ;  He  leads.  So 
must  His  people.  His  love  constrains  ;  so  must  ours. 
Love  is  simply  irresistible.  It  triumphs  over  all  ob- 
stacles ;  it  breaks  down  all  opposition  ;  it  wins  all  sorts 
of  men.  It  has  a  sweet  language  of  its  own.  It  cannot 
be  imitated.  A  great  and  witty  American  essayist  tells 
us  that  he  once  heard  a  voice  so  sweet,  that  its  tones  so 
controlled  him  that  he  could  have  been  led  at  its  possess- 
or's will.  The  love  of  Christ  in  the  heart  gives  such 
music  to  tho  voice.  God  pours  out  His  own  soul  in 
these  words  :  **  I  have  loved  thee  with  an  everlasting 
love,  therefore  with  loving-kindness  have  I  drawn 
thee."  We  shall  have  power  to  draw  men  just  in  pro- 
portion as  we  possess  this  love.  Men  are  reached  through 
the  heart  oftener  than  through  the  head.  You  may  put 
an  immense  deal  of  gospel  into  a  warm  grasp  of  the 
hand.  It  is  said  that  the  aggregate  force  of  the  heart- 
beats of  a  life-time  would  pulverize  the  hardest  rock. 
They  will  certainly,  if  inspired  by  God's  love  and  ac- 
companied by  His  grace,  break  the  heart  of  the  most 
hardened  sinner. 

*  ^  Cart-  ropes  of  love. "  This  is  a  wonderful  expressi  on. 
On  the  shore  of  the  Galilean  Sea,  Christ  submits  Peter 
to  his  threefold  test.  It  was  a  searching  time  for  tiie 
repentant  disciple.  How  shall  he  bo  prepared  for  his 
great  work  ?    How  bo  loyal  to  his  Lord  ?     How  feed  the 


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CHRIST,    AND   UIM   CfiUCIFIED. 


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Ill 


sheep  and  the  lambs  ?  "We  learn  from  this  text  that  the 
first,  the  second,  and  the  third  prerequisite  of  the  truo 
worker  for  Christ  is — Love.  Love  will  furnish  logic  ; 
love  commands  eloquence  ;  love  gives  tact.  Love  is 
better  than  tongues  ;  the  greatest  gift  is  love.  It  out- 
works and  it  outlives  all  gifts  beside.  This  is  a  curious 
illustration  which  I  saw  the  other  day  :  In  one  of  her 
books,  Anna  Shipton  tells  us  that  when  weary  with  work 
and  longing  for  rest,  she  slept  and  dreamed  that  she  was 
drawn  through  a  sea  of  glass  to  the  Heavenly  City.  Her 
soul  was  filled  with  delight  at  the  joy  which  awaited  her, 
but  looking  back  she  saw  many  men  and  women  drown- 
ing about  her,  and  lifting  wild  cries  to  her  for  help. 
She  cried  unto  God  to  permit  her  longer  to  remain  that 
she  might  rescue  them.  Her  prayer  was  answered. 
Soon  she  was  again  borne  heavenward,  but  not  now  alone. 
Many  now  were  following.  They  were  drawn  by  her 
heart-strings.  These  were  the  cables,  the  cart- ropes,  of 
love  which  drew  the  despairing  and  drowning  to  God 
and  glory. 

Love  has  ever  constrained  the  great  workers  for  God. 
In  silence  and  sorrow  they  have  lived  and  loved.  What 
giants  of  faith  and  love  Christianity  has  produced  !  The 
names  of  many  are  conspicuous  on  the  world's  historic 
page.  The  names  of  many  more  are  unknown  to  fame. 
Their  record  is  on  high.  In  dungeons,  deep  and  dark, 
their  gentle  ways  were  cables  of  love  ;  in  the  home  of  the 
poor  they  were  angels  of  mercy.  The  world  knows  them 
not ;  God  knows  them  well.  Their  names  are  in  the 
Lamb's  Book  of  Life.  The  world  has  only  one  Niagara. 
It  needs  only  one.  Magnificent  as  it  is,  it  is  less  useful 
than  the  thousand  brooks  which  flow  through  green  fields 
and  give  drink  to  man  and  beast.  Silent  forces  are  always 
the  mightiest.    More  water  is  drawn  up  into  the  heavens 


BANDS   OF   LOVE. 


195 


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Ins 


in  the  silent  hour  of  a  summer's  noon  than  could  be 
drawn  by  the  noisy  engines  working  a  year  throngliout 
the  world.  Gentle  souls  pass  through  the  world  silent 
as  the  falling  dew  ;  they  leave  the  benediction  of  their 
presence  wherever  they  go.  God  multiply  their  num- 
ber !  Oh,  for  the  cart-ropes  of  love  !  Lord  Jesus,  draw 
ns,  and  we  will  run  after  Thee  I  Give  us  Thy  love  and 
we  shall  draw  others  to  Thy  blessed  feet  I 

In  a  book  entitled  ''  Lights  and  Shadov/s  of  Scottish 
Life,"  there  is  told  a  story  to  this  effect :  A  Highland 
mother  one  day  left  her  babe  sleeping  by  the  fireside  in 
her  humble  cottage.  One  of  the  gigantic  eagles  of  the 
region  seized  the  infant,  and  in  its  strong  talons  soon 
bore  the  babe  to  its  lofty  eyrie.  The  whole  village  was 
aroused  ;  but  the  hearts  of  all  sank  in  despair.  Now  a 
bravo  sailor  appears.  He  tries  to  climb  the  rugged  rock. 
He,  surely,  will  succeed ;  he  is  accustomed  to  lofty  heights, 
but  his  limbs  tremble,  his  courage  fails,  and  he  gives  up 
the  attempt.  Next  comes  a  robust  Highlander.  He  is  a 
shepherd.  Often  he  has  scaled  the  mountains  ;  often  ho 
has  borne  lambs  in  his  bosom.  He  clind)s  a  little  way, 
he  stops,  he  clings  to  the  rock,  he  falls  to  the  bottom. 
But  see  this  pale-faced  woman  !  Her  eyes  are  wild  ; 
her  heart  beats  wildly.  Make  way  for  her  through  the 
crowd  !  she  will  climb  that  rock.  Who  is  she  ?  What 
impels  her  ?  Your  hearts  answer  well.  She  starts.  Up 
she  goes.  She  hesitates.  Will  she  give  up  ?  Is  she 
going  to  fall  ?  No,  no.  On  she  goes.  Now  on  this 
shelf  of  rock  ;  now  the  next.  How  the  hearts  of  all 
tremble  !  Up  she  goes.  God  have  mercy  on  her  !  God 
be  praised  !  Look  !  she  has  reached  the  top  of  the  cliff  ; 
she  has  the  child  in  her  arms.  Down  she  comes,  step 
by  step.  There  she  stands  amid  the  joyous,  grateful 
crowd,  with  the  babe  pressed  to  her  bosom  I    What 


.!.] 


1:1;^ 


W' 


100 


CHRIST.    AXD   IIIM    CllUCIFIED. 


made  her  succeed)  while  sailor  and  shepherd  failed  ?  1 
need  not  tell  you  who  she  was.  Between  lier  and  that 
child  were  cables  of  love.  Cart- ropes  of  love  drew  her 
to  the  cliff's  top. 

Friends,  on  dangerous  heights  and  in  deadly  depths 
are  the  lost  all  about  us.  Who  will  go  to  the  rescue  ? 
God  alone  can  save.  God  alone  has  brought  deliverance. 
But  God  uses  the  cords  of  men  and  the  bands  of  love. 
By  these  He  drew  us  to  Himself  ;  by  these  He  is  draw- 
ing us  into  fields  of  service.  Oh,  for  bands  of  lovo  this 
day  !  May  we  ever  hear  God  saying  :  *'  I  drew  them 
with  cords  of  a  mixUf  with  bands  of  love." 


^f  ^i 


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XYL 
BEARING  ONE  ANOTHER'S  BURDENS.* 

"  Bear  ye  one  another'B  bnrdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Obrist." 
—Gal.  6  :  2. 

Some  passages  of  Scripture  seem  to  be  direct  contra- 
dictions of  certain  other  passages.  Life  is  called  death, 
lops,  gain,  and  poverty,  riches.  To  the  superficial  reader 
these  seeming  contradictions  are  real.  To  the  closer 
student  of  Scripture  and  observer  of  life  they  are  per- 
fectly harmonious.  In  this  respe'  *-.  life  in  all  its  phases 
corroborates  the  statements  of  '  jvelation.  We  every- 
where see  contradictions  and  paradoxes.  Life  is  con- 
stantly set  over  against  death  ;  sorrow  is  opposed  to  joy, 
and  other  direct  opposites  are  strangely  linked  together 
in  every  relation  in  which  men  are  called  to  act  their  part 
in  the  mysterious  drama  of  life. 

Every  one  who  has  read  the  chapter  from  which  our 
text  is  taken  has  observed  this  seeming  contradiction. 
In  the  second  verse,  which  is  our  text  this  morning,  we 
read,  **  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,"  and  in  the  fifth 
verse  we  read,  **  For  every  man  shall  bear  his  own  bur- 
den." The  injunction  to  *'  bear  one  another's  burdens" 
•^8  clear  and  explicit ;  and  the  direct  statement  that  every 
man  shall  bear  his  own  burden  is  equally  clear  and  ex- 
plicit. 

Tl?e  actual  experience  of  life  in  its  various  trials  recon- 

*  This  sermon  was  preached  May  15th,  1870,  being  the  first  sermon 
of  the  aathor's  pastorate. 


I 

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198 


ClIUIST,    AND   IIIM    CRUCIFIED. 


ciles  tills  seeming  opposition,  and  shows  how  the  ander- 
lying  harmony  of  the  two  passages  appears.  There  are 
burdens  which  we  can  bear  for  our  fellow-men  ;  and 
there  are  other  burdens  which  each  must  bear  alone. 
Some  crushing  burdens  there  are  upon  others  which  with 
all  our  tender  sympathy  and  timely  aid  we  caimot  re- 
move ;  griefs  there  are  as  the  heritage  of  every  child  of 
Adam  which  no  human  love  can  assuage  ;  and  tears 
which  no  human  hand  can  wipe  away.  Thus  it  is  that 
some  of  the  profoundest  truths  of  revelation  and  life 
emerge  from  these  apparently  contradictory  statements. 
As  the  fire  which  is  latent  in  the  flint  and  the  steel  flashes 
forth  when  they  are  harshly  struck,  so  the  truth,  which 
otherwise  might  be  hidden,  emerges  in  a  clearer  light 
when  such  truths  come  into  collision. 

Truth  is  many-sided.  Now  one  side  appears  to  the 
partial  or  total  exclusion  of  the  other,  and  again  the  hid- 
den side  appears  and  the  first  is  concealed.  On  this  side 
of  the  cube  of  truth  is  written  the  command,  **  Bear  ye 
one  another's  burdens  ;"  but  go  around  to  another  side 
of  the  cube,  and  you  read  another  revelation  of  actual 
life,  **  For  every  man  shall  bear  his  own  burden." 
Both  truths  are  taught  in  the  chapter  ;  both  aie  verified 
in  the  experience  of  us  all,  and  thus  where  there  was 
seeming  contradiction  there  is  in  reality  the  fullest  har- 
mony. 

The  thought  underlying  the  injunction  of  the  text  is 
that  all  men  have  burdens  to  bear,  and  to  this  thought 
we  first  direct  attention.  Every  heart  knows  its  own 
sorrow.  Every  heart  has  a  history  known  only  to  the 
individual,  and  to  Him  to  whom  the  secrets  of  all  hearts 
are  known.  As  in  every  home  there  is  a  closet  with  its 
skeleton,  so  in  every  soul  there  is  a  secret  chamber  in 
which  are  buried  faded  hopes  and  dead  joys.     The  out- 


BEARING   ON^E    A.KOTHEU  S   BURDENS. 


199 


ward  life  may  render  no  testimony  to  this  inward  grief  ; 
the  eye  may  sparkle  and  the  lip  smile,  but  the  grief  is 
still  there,  securely  hidden  from  the  observer,  but  sadly 
known  to  its  possessor.  We  remember  the  story  of  the 
Spartan  boy,  who  stole  a  deadly  weapon  and  concealed  it 
in  his  tunic  ;  the  storv  is  given  in  different  forms.  An 
accidental  collision  drove  the  weapon  into  his  body. 
Discovery  and  confession  would  have  been  certain  death, 
80  with  true  Spartan  heroism  he  talked  and  smiled  while 
his  life-blood  was  slowly  oozing  from  his  heart. 

With  more  than  stiletto  sharpness  do  these  hidden 
griefs  stab  the  sensitive  heart  until  the  color  fades  from 
the  cheek,  and  joy  from  the  life,  and  death  at  last  claims 
its  victim.  Words  spoken  by  us  at  random  may  become 
the  Jirrow  that  thus  pierces ;  and  actions  thoughtlessly 
performed,  the  grief  that  thus  blights.  There  is  a  fear- 
ful aloneness  in  the  lives  of  us  all.  Up  and  down  life's 
dusty  highway  and  through  its  secluded  alleys  each  man 
walks  alone.  As  individuals  we  have  personal  trans- 
actions with  God  ;  as  individuals  we  must  know  the  joy 
of  sins  forgiven  and  the  peace  which  passes  all  under- 
standing ;  or,  as  individuals  we  must  feel  the  pain  of  sins 
cryirg  for  vengeance  and  of  remorse  which  foretells  the 
death  that  never  dies.  Recall  this  morning  that  hour 
when  you  yielded  to  temptation,  that  hour  when  sin  put 
its  deadly  mark  upon  the  soul,  that  hour  when  the  bright 
dreams  of  life  faded  and  remorse  became  the  soul's  dread- 
ful guest.  No  more  can  human  sympathy  bring  to  the 
heart  sweet  forgetfuluess.  When  the  gates  of  secrecy 
open  and  the  light  of  truth  shines  in  upon  the  soul,  these 
deadly  visitors  are  seen  revelling  where  Jesus  alone  should 
dwell.  What  a  fearful  burden  is  sin  !  From  one's  own 
heart  and  memory  one  may  not  escape.  Take  the  wings 
of  the  morning  and  fly  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 


200 


CHRIST,    AXD    IIIM    CRtTCIFIED. 


earth  ;  but  the  heart  burdened  with  its  memories  is  still 
there.  On  angel's  wing  mount,  if  possible,  to  heaven, 
and  heaven  will  be  the  worst  possible  hell.  No  sympathy 
of  loved  one  may  remove  that  burden  of  sin.  Only  Ho 
who  is  mighty  to  save.  He  who  says  in  words  of  infinite 
tenderness,  "  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest,"  can  ease  the  soul 
thus  weighed  down  with  the  burden  of  sin.  Bunyan's 
pilgrim  staggered  long  beneiith  his  burden  until  his  eye 
caught  sight  of  the  cross,  and  then  his  burden  rolled 
from  his  weary  shoulders. 

But  there  are  burdens  which  we  are  bound  to  bear 
because  of  our  relation  to  one  another  as  members  of  the 
same  human  family.  While  it  is  true  that  men  with  all 
their  sins  and  other  burdens  are  alone  before  God,  it  is 
also  true  that  we  cannot  separate  ourselves  from  our  fel- 
low-men. We  are  all  parts  of  a  common  whole.  Each 
unit  is  a  link  in  the  endless  chain  of  being.  We  ought 
not  if  we  could,  and  we  cannot  if  wo  would,  break  this 
chain.  There  is  a  grand  truth  in  the  words  of  the 
heathen  play,  '*  I  am  a  man,  and  deem  nothing  that  re- 
lates to  man  foreign  to  me."  We  too  often  forget  this 
truth.  Our  patriotism  is  too  often  put  into  Fourth-of- 
July  orations,  our  humanity  into  sermons,  and  our  bur- 
den-bearing confined  to  our  own  narrow  circle.  Has 
Christ  been  so  long  with  us  and  yet  have  we  not  known 
Him  ?  Have  wo  not  learned  from  the  Pharisee,  who  in 
the  woman  saw  only  the  sinner,  rather  than  from  the 
loving  Christ  who,  in  the  sinner,  bowed  and  weeping  at 
His  feet,  saw  the  woman  ?  Oh,  brothers,  that  man  whom 
we  saw  on  *he  street  this  morning  bearing  the  burden  of 
his  sins  in  iiis  tottering  gait  and  in  his  vice-marked  face 
is  still  our  brother,  and  we  cannot  separate  ourselves 
from  him.     He  has  a  history  ;  once  life  to  him  was  fair.* 


BEARINCf   ONE   AKOTHEU'S    BL'KDEX3. 


201 


and  beautiful  as  it  now  is  to  us.  He  was  made  in  the 
image  of  God  ;  sin  lias  fearfully  marred  that  image,  but 
its  traces  are  seen  still.  Immortal  destinies  are  his  in  joy 
or  woe.  "We  cannot  pass  him  by  ;  Christ  would  not ; 
we  dare  not.  Wo  ma?  not  be  able  to  bear  all  his  bur- 
den  ;  but  what  we  can  bear,  as  we  love  Christ,  we  ara 
bound  to  bear  ;  and  we  can  certainly  point  him  to  the 
**  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world" 
— the  Lamb  who  bore  our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the 
tree.  Wherever  we  see  a  man,  however  low  and  de- 
graded, let  us  give  him  the  good  right  hand  of  a  brother 
man,  and  "  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ."  That  woman 
that  is  a  sinner,  oh,  fair  lady,  is  still  thy  sister.  The  re- 
lationship cannot  be  dissolved.  The  boundless  mercy 
and  tender  grace  of  God  have  made  thee  to  difiFer.  Let 
pride  be  turned  to  prayer  and  cold  disdain  to  loving 
pity  ;  and  so  shall  you  fulfil  the  law  of  Him  who  was 
'*  the  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners." 

A  second  obligation  binding  upon  us  to  bear  one  an- 
other's burdens,  is  the  relation  which  we  sustain  to  the 
great  brotherhood  of  Christians. 

These  words  were  originally  spoken  to  Christians  ;  and 
to  them  in  their  mutual  relations  is  their  primary  applica- 
tion. Separated  as  we  are  by  denominational  lines,  and 
yielding  to  none  in  our  adherence  to  **  the  faith  once  de- 
livered to  the  saints,"  let  us  still  recognize  in  all  who 
love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  brothers  in  Christian  work 
and  sympathy.  "While  the  hosts  of  siri  are  pressing  hard, 
the  followers  of  Christ  must  stand  as  an  unbroken  phalanx 
against  the  onward  march  of  the  enemy.  Our  aims,  our 
hopes  are  one.  We  are  to  subdue  this  rebellious  world 
and  bring  it  into  submission  at  the  feet  of  our  conquer- 
ing Christ.  The  burdens  of  each,  then,  must  be  the 
burdens  of  all ;  and  the  triumphs  of  any  branch  through 


;!i:';i 


202 


CHIIIST,    AND   HIM    CliUCIFIED. 


wliich  flows  the  life  of  the  vino  are  the  triumphs  of  all 
the  branches  which  partake  of  that  common  life. 

Not  in  any  outward  unity  is  the  true  idea  of  Christian 
unity  to  be  found.  Outward  organizations  may  give  a 
cold  and  dead  unity,  but  oneness  of  aim  in  diversity  of 
method  furnishes  the  only  true  unity.  Where  there  is 
life,  there  will  be  diversity  ;  where  there  is  intellectual 
activity,  there  will  be  difference  of  opinion.  But  where 
all  draw  near  to  Christ,  as  the  common  life  and  inspira- 
tion, there  will  be  a  divine  harmony  beneath  the  various 
external  manifestations.  Let  us  be  fellow-helpers  in  the 
work  of  our  common  Lord,  ready  to  shield  the  reputa- 
tion and  bear  the  burden,  as  best  we  may,  of  all  Christ's 
people.  Let  us  be  provoked  to  greater  love  and  better 
works  in  our  special  sphere  of  Christian  labor  by  the 
activities  of  our  brethren  in  their  departments  of  Christ's 
work. 

A  third  and  most  binding  obligation  to  bear  one  an- 
other's burdens,  is  the  relation  we  bear  to  one  another  as 
membersof  a  particularchurch — of  thischurch — of  Christ. 
It  is  a  great  honor  to  be  a  member  of  a  church  of  Christ. 
No  relationship  this  side  of  heaven,  outside  of  the  family, 
should  be  so  tender  and  true.  If  rightly  appreciated  and 
faithfully  observed  none  can  be  so  full  of  blessing. 
Here,  at  least,  we  should  know  no  master  but  Christ,  no 
law  but  His  Word,  and  no  rule  but  Hia  will.  Here,  at 
least,  we  should  know  the  meaning  of  the  word,  **  breth- 
ren." Perfect  social  equality,  perfect  community  of 
feeling,  and  oneness  of  tastes,  constituted  as  we  are,  are 
not  to  be  expected,  perhaps  are  not  to  be  desired.  But 
these  differences  cannot  separate  hearts  which  throb  with 
love  for  the  Christ  whom  we  adore.  It  has  always  been 
a  mystery  to  me  that  we  have  so  little  of  the  family  feel- 
ing in  our  relations  as  members  of  a  church  of  Christ. 


BCARIXa   ONE   ANOTHER  S   BURDSNS. 


203 


In  entering  upon  this  relation  with  you  to-day,  a  relation 
which  marks  this  day  at  one  of  the  most  important  of 
my  life,  I  may  be  permitted  to  speak  more  personally 
than  would  otherwise  be  fitting.  Not  unadvisedly  and 
thoughtlesoly,  but,  as  I  trust,  in  the  fear  of  God  and  the 
love  of  Christ,  do  I  come  to  you  to-day.  The  strongest 
conviction  of  my  life  is  that  God  has  called  me,  all  un- 
worthy as  I  am,  to  preach  His  blessed  Gospel.  Long 
did  my  rebellious  heart  strive  against  the  promptings  of 
His  Spirit,  until  the  tender  love  of  Jesus,  my  Saviour, 
melted  me  into  submission,  and  I  said,  ^'  Lord,  what 
wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  God  has  led  me  by  ways  of 
which  1  never  dreamed.  He  lias  revealed  Himself  to 
me  as  a  tender  Father  who  does  not  despise  the  weakest 
of  His  children.  You  have  called  me  here — not  you, 
I  hope,  but  God.  I  am  now  yours  in  Christ's  work. 
Having  given  Him  the  early  years  of  boyhood,  I  now 
consecrate  to  Him  the  riper  years  of  early  manhood. 
"Without  the  experience  which  comes  from  age  and  the 
discipline  of  trial,  1  shall  have  to  ask  you  to  bear  with 
me  my  burdens  ;  and,  as  God  enables  me,  I  hope  to 
help  you  bear  yours.  Our  joys  and  sorrows,  our  failures 
and  successes  henceforth,  are  mutual.  We  lay  ourselves 
and  all  we  have  and  are  upon  the  altar  of  Christ  this 
morning,  beseeching  Him  for  His  great  love's  sake  to 
grant  us  the  honor  of  spending  and  being  spent  in  His 
'service.     ...;".  ^.--,  ■,;,        ■,--„../;■.-  - 

Let  us  so  illustrate  the  spirit  of  Christ  that  this  church 
shall  be  in  the  highest  sense  a  Christian  home — a  homo 
to  which  our  hearts,  and  the  hearts  of  many  now  without 
God  and  without  hope,  shall  ever  turn.  May  we  so  learn 
Christ  that  we  shall  find  in  His  people  here  the  dearest 
of  all  earthly  society,  that  young  and  old  shall  feel  it  to 
be  a  privilege  and  an  honor  to  belong  to  this  church  of 


fe( 


204 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


m 


i 


I 


Christ.  If  any  one  is  weak  that  one's  weakness  is  the 
burden  which  we  are  to  help  him  to  carry.  His  in- 
firmity is  his  claim  upon  our  greater  strength.  As  we 
would  wish  to  lift  a  weight  which  had  fallen  upon  the 
body  01  a  brother  and  was  crushing  out  his  life,  so  shall 
we  in  tho  Spirit  of  Christ  run  to  his  rescue  when  tempta- 
tion is  near,  when  disappointment  has  come,  and  sorrow 
has  taken  up  its  abode  in  his  heart.  Wo  cannot  stand 
idly  by  when  the  storm  is  gathering  about  our  brethren. 
If  we  feel  that  we  are  safe  on  the  shore  while  they  arc 
out  on  the  sea  of  temptation,  while  the  waves  beat,  the 
storms  howl,  and  the  sun  is  hidden,  we  shall  heartily 
shout,  *'  Ho,  men  and  women  I  Ho,  brother,  see  the 
light  beyond,  there  is  one  star  still  shining,  the  Star  of 
Bethlehem.  Light  streams  also  from  the  cross  ;  steer 
for  that  light  and  you  shaii  be  safe."  We  need  hearts 
large  enough  and  true  enough  to  feel  every  brother's 
sorrow,  hands  strong  enough  to  aid,  and  words  kind 
enough  to  cheer  the  weakest  saint  in  his  life's  battle. 

Every  day  men  are  tempted  to  cheat  and  to  lie — to  sell 
their  honor,  their  manhood,  their  religion,  for  gain. 
Who  may  look  coldly  on  his  tempted  brother  ?  To-mor- 
row he  himself  may  be  that  tempted  and  falling  one. 
Did  we  but  understand  the  importance  and  sacredness  of 
our  relations  as  members  of  the  Church  of  our  Lord,  did 
we  but  warn  and  admonish  our  young  and  weaker  breth- 
ren in  the  spirit  of  Ilim  who  prayed  for  the  fainting 
Peter,  did  we  but  learn  of  Christ  to  bear  one  another's 
burdens,  liundreds  would  have  been  saved  to  the  Church 
and  cause  of  the  Redeemer,  who  are  now  bringing  a  re- 
proach upon  that  cause,  and  the  Church  would  be  girded 
with  new  strength  to  win  grander  victories  for  her  Lord. 
V  We  now  come  to  speak  of  the  motive  which  is  to  influ- 
ence us  in  this  work  of  burden-bearing,;^/  and  so  fulfil 


BEARING   ONE  ANOTHER'S  BURDENS. 


205 


the  law  of  Christ."  Men  are  naturally  selfish,  and  this 
natural  selfishness  leads  them  to  shut  themselves  up  in 
their  own  interests.  When  sin  separated  man  from  God, 
it  also  separated  man  from  his  fellow-men.  Sin  is  always, 
in  the  individual  heart  and  in  society,  a  disintegrating 
force.  To  enable  men  to  overcome  this  selfishness, 
•which  is  the  essence  of  all  sin,  a  powerful  motive  must 
be  brought  to  bear  upon  them.  But  the  influence  of  an 
external  motive  depends,  not  so  much  upon  the  motive 
itself  as  upon  the  state  of  mind  and  heart  on  which  it 
operates.  So  that  in  order  that  the  law  of  Christ  may 
exercise  its  proper  influence  upon  the  heart,  the  heart 
itself  must  be  brought  into  sympathy  and  union  with 
Christ.  If  we  shall  do  what  Christ  did,  we  must  be- 
come partakers  of  Christ's  life  and  spirit  by  personal 
fellowship  witli  Him  ;  we  must  know  what  it  is  to  put 
.on  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  live  over  again  His  life,  thinking 
His  thoughts,  and  performing,  as  He  may  enable  us, 
His  deeds.  To  the  heart  unacquainted  with  Jesus  and 
a  stranger  to  His  self-sacrificing  love,  the  bearing  of 
others'  burdens  is  utterly  repugnant ;  and  the  law  of 
Christ  is  utterly  powerless  to  move  to  action.  But  if 
we  have  known  what  it  is  to  die  unto  self  and  live  imto 
Him  who  died  to  redeem  us,  we  shall  find  a  joy  such  as 
the  world  cannot  give,  in  bearing  the  cross  and  fulfilling 
the  law  of  Christ. 

Burden -bearing  is  here  called  the  law  of  Christ,  and  if 
we  are  Christ's  we  shall  manifest  the  disposition  which 
is  characteristic  of  those  who  are  governed  by  His  will. 
The  bearing  of  burdens,  then,  becomes  a  touchstone  of 
Ciiristian  character.  Whatever  a  man  may  say  of  his 
faith  and  his  creeds,  unless  he  illustrates  in  his  life  the 
'  spirit  of  Christ,  we  are  warranted  in  saying  that  he  is 
>  none  of  His.     Men  cannot  long  hide  themselves.     Char- 


ii 


>'?Sflc 


206 


CHUI8T,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


acter  is  irrepressible.  What  is  in  must  como  out ;  and 
tho  man  who  professes  to  love  Christ,  and  yet  fails  to  do 
what  Christ  did,  is  false  to  truth  and  Christ,  whatever 
his  professions  may  be. 

This  is  the  law  of  Christ,  first,  by  direct  precept.  Ko 
more  tender  words  over  fell  from  the  lips  of  tho  loving 
Saviour  than,  when  in  the  hours  of  agony  which  pre- 
ceded the  last  great  trial.  He  forgets  all  His  own  suffer- 
ings in  His  love  for  His  disciples,  and  bids  them  love 
one  another  even  as  He  had  loved  them.  By  thus  over- 
coming the  spirit  of  selfishness  which  is  naturally  char- 
acteristic of  us  all,  men  were  to  recognize  the  new  crea- 
tion in  Christ  Jesus ;  the  world  was  thus  to  know  tho 
power  of  the  love  of  Christ  in  subduing  the  selfishness, 
and  in  stimulating  the  nobility  of  human  character. 
These  last  words  of  self-sacrificing  love  on  the  part  of 
Christ  have  given  us  the  fulfilment  of  all  the  command- 
ments of  tho  Old  Testament  ritual,  and  they  have  fur- 
nished the  test  of  all  Christ-like  character  ever  since  they 
were  uttered.  When  men  rise  above  the  narrow  con- 
cerns and  selfish  interests  of  their  own  affairs  to  the  reali- 
zation of  Christ's  precept — to  love  one  another — they 
prove,  as  they  can  in  no  other  way,  the  reality  and 
beauty  of  the  religion  of  Christ.  The  best  treatise  ever 
written  on  Christian  evidences  is  a  life  ordered  acording 
to  this  model.  Oh  that  we  could  learn  what  it  is  to 
know  Christ  in  His  character  as  a  bearer  of  burdens  for 
others  !  Oh  that  we  could  so  drink  in  the  spirit  of  His 
oft-repeated  precept,  until  we  could  feel  its  power  and 
illustrate  its  reality  in  our  daily  lives  with  our  brethren 
in  Christ  !  How  many  there  are  who  are  known  to 
Christ — quiet,  patient  men  and  women —unaccredited 
heroes  and  heroines,  whom  we  may  pass  by,  but  whose 
names  ^ro  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life.     Oh  for 


BEARIKQ   ONE   ANOTHER'S   BURDENS. 


207 


6 

>r 


the  spirit  of  Christ's  precept,  to  love  one  another,  to 
bear  one  another's  burdens,  and  thns  prove  tlie  reality 
of  our  own  conversion  and  the  reality  of  the  Christian 
religion  ! 

But  there  is  a  still  more  important  sense  in  which 
burden-bearing  is  the  law  of  Christ — it  was  the  law  illus- 
trated by  His  example.  Actions  speak  louder  than 
words.  Christ's  example  is  the  best  commentary  on  His 
own  teachings.  This  law  so  permeated  His  whole  being 
that  it  is  seen  in  every  act  of  His  life.  In  the  lofty 
strains  of  prophetic  song  Christ  is  represented  as  the 
Burden- bearer.  Surely  He  hath  borne  our  griefs  and 
carried  our  sorrows,  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him  the  in- 
iquity of  us  all,  He  hath  poured  out  His  soul  unto  death, 
and  He  bare  the  sin  of  many.  The  daily  scenes  which 
occurred  seven  hundred  years  after  this  prophecy 
was  made  most  unmistakablj'  proclaim  Him  to  bo 
"a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  ^rief,"  the 
bearer  of  the  burdens  of  others,  burdens  which  would 
have  crushed  the  world  to  eternal  ruin.  Those  years  of 
trial,  sorrow,  and  humiliation,  who  may  fully  understand 
them  ?  Christ  was  weary  and  worn  as  you  or  I  could 
be,  yet  He  was  ever  ready  to  listen  to  the  tale  of  sorrow 
and  to  ease  the  burdened  heart.  All  day  He  goes  about 
doing  good  ;  at  nightfall  His  weary  feet  seek  the  moun- 
tain heights  for  strength  to  do  the  work  of  burden-bear- 
ing on  the  morrow.  He  takes  on  Himself  the  burden  of 
the  weeping  Martha  and  the  sadder  Mary.  His  burden 
causes  Him  to  weep  and  groan  ;  but  He  bears  it  away 
and  brings  joy  for  sorrow,  hope  for  fear,  and  life  for 
death  to  the  stricken  household.  He  is  infinitely  pure 
and  holy.  Sin  in  all  its  forms  is  a  very  abomination  to 
His  stainless  purity.  But  see  Him  eating  with  publicans 
and  sinners.     The  Pharisees  stand  aloof  in  holy  horror 


M 


208 


CHRIST,    AXU   niM   CRUCIFIED. 


hi 


from  those  ein-burdened  publicans  ;  they  would  not 
touch  the  burden  with  so  much  as  their  finger.  They 
would  bind  another  and  greater  burden  upon  the  already 
crushed  sinners.  Not  so  with  Christ.  He  puts  His  own 
shoulder  beneath  it ;  He  carries  it.  In  obedience  to  the 
tender  command,  "  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest,"  the  people 
throng  to  Him  with  bodies  burdened  with  disease  and 
souls  laden  with  sin. 

Hating  sin,  He  still  bears  its  reproach.  Oh,  Pharisees, 
if  you  are  without  sin,  cast  the  first  stone  at  her  who 
kneels  at  the  feet  of  Christ.  She  bathes  those  feet  with 
her  tears  ;  she  wipes  them  with  her  hair.  Christ  might 
have  won  great  reputation  with  the  Pharisees  had  He 
scorned  that  sinning  daughter  of  Adam.  But  instead 
He  bears  her  burden,  and  challenges  and  receives  the 
admiration  of  all  noble  souls,  and  the  hatred  of  the  world 
of  Pharisees.  What  a  Christ  is  our  Christ  I  What  a 
Jesus  is  He  whom  we  adore,  and  to  whom  we  look  to- 
day for  pardon,  for  guidance,  for  all  we  need  in  life  and 
death,  in  time  and  eternity  ! 

We  all  have  certain  characteristics  of  speech  and  action 
by  which  our  friends  come  to  know  us  and  speak  of  us. 
Hearing  certain  tones  of  voice  or  forms  of  expression,  or 
seeing  certain  modes  of  dress,  they  come  to  speak  of  those 
things  as  our  style.  Reverently  we  would  say  that  bur- 
den-bearing is  the  style  of  Christ.  It  permeates  His 
whole  life,  manifesting  itself  even  in  His  seemingly  un- 
conscious acts.  This  is  the  underlying  and  unifying 
principle  of  His  entire  life,  and  His  separate  acts  are  but 
harmonious  parts  of  the  harmonious  whole.  The  life 
which  begun  on  earth  by  hnmiliatioif,  ended  in  a  deeper 
humiliation  ;  beginning  by  bearing  the  burden  of  a 
human  body,  it  ended  by  suffering  in  that  body  beneath 


BEAniXU   OKK   AXOTIIEU'S   DIUDF.XS. 


^0!) 


!l 


13 


ff 


tlio  burden  of  onr  sins  and  Borrows.  Go  to  dark  Getli- 
semnnc,  if  you  would  learn  the  meaning;  of  bearing  tho 
burden  of  others'  woes. 

There  are  burdens  which  onr  friends  intiy  help  us  to 
bear.  They  may  shield  us  and  protect  us  from  many  of 
the  sorrows  of  life,  and  if  they  are  inspired  by  tho  life 
and  love  of  Christ,  they  can  help  us  as  even  they  them- 
selves may  not  imagine.  But  tho  burden  of  sin  which 
presses  on  us  all,  the  stings  of  conscience,  tlio  pangs 
of  remorse,  no  human  power  can  bear,  no  love  of  earth, 
however  tender  and  true,  can  remove.  Tho  man  who  is 
a  stranger  to  Christ  is  thus  burdened.  He  is  a  voj'ager 
without  a  pilot,  a  traveller  without  a  guide,  a  child 
without  a  father,  a  sinner  without  a  Saviour.  If  God 
spared  not  His  own  Sor'  when  that  Son  stood  in  the  room 
of  sinful  man,  how  can  God  spare  men  when  they  stand 
before  Him  laden  with  their  own  guilt  ?  If  tho  load  of 
the  world's  guilt  when  laid  upon  Christ  crushed  Him  into 
sorrow  too  deep  for  human  thought,  crushed  Hmi  to  death 
and  tho  grave,oh,  how  shall  any  man  attempt  to  stand  be- 
fore God  bearing  all  the  burdens  of  his  guilt  ?  As  God 
lives,  the  soul  that  has  not  cast  off  the  burden  of  his  sins 
upon  the  sin-atoning  Lamb,  shall  die. 

Hear,  this  morning,  you  who  have  no  interest  in 
Christ,  His  words  of  love,  **  Come  imto  Me,  all  ye  that 
labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 
Brethren,  let  us  hear  the  words  of  truth  in  our  text. 
**  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens  ;"  let  us  be  rebuked 
and  inspired  by  the  life  of  Christ,  so  that  we  may  go 
and  do  likewise. 


fe 


ii 


"i! 


XV 11. 
HUMAN  MINISTRY  A  DIVINE  GIFT.* 

"  And  I  thank  Christ  Jesns  our  Lord,  who  hath  enabled  me,  for 
that  Ho  counted  me  faithful,  putting  me  into  the  ministry."—!  Tim. 
1 :  12. 

Timothy  was  a  young  man  of  'great  hope  and  promise. 
His  marked  ability,  his  good  reputation,  and  his  gener- 
ous character,  attracted  the  notice  and  won  the  admira- 
tion of  the  great  apostle.  A  friendship  warm  and  ten- 
der was  the  result. 

In  the  great  city  of  Ephesus  Paul  earnestly  strove  to 
establish  a  church  of  Christ.  In  the  very  centre  of 
heathenism  he  would  uplift  the  standard  of  the  cross. 
Where  there  were  the  most  magnificent  temples  to  false 
gods,  there  should  there  be  a  church  to  the  true  God. 
Such  success  crowned  his  efforts,  that  there  was  danger 
that  the  worship  of  Diana  would  come  into  disrepute. 
A  tumult  was  excited  by  Demetrius,  and  Paul  was 
obliged  to  leave  the  city.  What  is  now  to  become  of 
the  infant  church  ?  He  left  Timothy  there  as  its  pastor, 
instructing  him  to  teach  no  other  doctrine  than  that 
which  he  was  accustomed  to  teach  himself.  There  were 
many  and  great  difficulties  to  contend  against.  The 
apostle  had  intended  to  settle  many  of  these  difficulties  ; 
and  he  was  successfully  working  toward  that  result.  But 
now  he  is  obliged  hurriedly  to  leave  before  his  plans 


*  Preached  Sunday  morning,  May  10th,  1874,  being  the  Sunday 
nearest  the  fourth  anniversary  of  the  present  pastorate. 


HUMAN    MINISTRY    A    DIVINE   OIFT. 


211 


r, 
at 
re 
"lie 

El     * 

r  ' 
ut 

Ins 
lay 


have  been  perfected,  and  Timothy  ia  thrust  into  this 
difficult  position.  lie  is  a  young  man — perliaps  not 
more  than  twenty.  lie  is  inexperienced.  Paul,  there- 
fore, shortly  after  his  departure,  writes  him  these  two 
epistles.  lie  gives  him  many  specific  directions,  and  ho 
npeaks  words  of  instruction  and  comfort  for  all  ministers 
and  churches  to  the  end  of  time. 

1.  The  first  thing  which  we  learn  from  this  text  is 
that  a  call  to  the  ministry  is  a  great  honor,  and  furnishes 
sufficient  cause  for  thankfulness — **  I  thank  Christ 
Jesus,"  says  Paul.  Timothy  was  just  beginning  his 
work  ;  Paul  was  ending  his.  Timothy  had  reason  to 
anticipate  many  difficulties  ;  Paul  had  experienced  all 
these  and  many  more.  Timothy,  in  prospect  of  such 
trials,  may  have  regretted  that  he  had  been  called  ;  Paul, 
after  experiencing  them,  and  triumphing  over  them, 
rejoiced  in  his  call  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  These 
words  of  the  aged  veteran  putting  off  his  armor  must 
have  greatly  cheered  the  youthful  w^arrior  just  putting 
on  his  armor.  lie  conceived  it  to  be  a  high  honor  be- 
stowed on  him,  that  he  was  called  of  God  to  preach  the 
blessed  Gospel.  It  is  to  the  free  grace  of  God  that  ho 
gives  the  praise.  Paul  had  had  other  plans  for  his 
future.  He  never  dreamed  of  being  a  preacher  of  the 
crucified  ^azarene.  That  name  once  he  hated.  He 
bitterly  persecuted  all  who  were  called  by  that  name. 
But  now  the  thought  that  so  great  a  trust  had  been  com- 
mitted to  him,  as  he  speaks  of  in  the  verse  preceding  my 
text,  "  According  to  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed 
God,  which  was  committed  to  my  trust,"  awakens  his 
profoundest  gratitude.  The  thought  also  of  what  he 
had  been  before  humbles  him,  and  leads  him  still  more 
to  magnify  the  grace  of  God  ;  for  he  says  of  himself, 
"  Who  was  before  a  blasphemer  and  a  persecutor." 


213 


CIiniST,    AND   TIIM   CRUCIFIED. 


This  was  marvellous  grace  ;  this  was  matcliless  love. 
He  never  became  so  eloquent  as  when  he  spoke  of  liis 
own  unworthiness  and  the  sovereign  grace  of  God. 

He  abandoned  many  schemes  of  high  and  laudable 
ambition.  The  highest  positions  in  the  J ewish  synagogue 
and  nation  were  open  to  him — a  young  man  of  such 
ability  and  education.  But  what  things  werO  gain  he 
counted  loss  ;  and  what  the  v/orldly-minded  would  call 
loss  he  counted  highest  gnin.  He  exchanged  these  high 
hopes  of  promotion  for  shame,  imprisonment,  stripes, 
hunger.  Witli  such  an  experience  behind  him,  and  the 
prospect  of  certain  death  before  him,  he  is  still  thankful. 
So  ought  any  Christian  man.  God  gives  no  man  a 
higher  honor  than  when  He  puts  him  into  the  ministry 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  It  is  a  work  of  toil  ;  it  often 
demands  the  sacrifice  of  feeling,  of  ease  and  comfort. 
All  prospect  of  mere  worldly  honors  must  be  abandoned. 
In  the  case  of  many  men,  even  in  our  own  land  to-day, 
as  in  the  case  of  Paul,  this  work  is  synonymous  with 
poverty,  want,  and  persecution.  It  is,  nevertheless,  so 
glorious  a  work,  that  an  angel  in  heaven  might  almost 
envy  the  man  whom  God  calls  and  qualifies  for  the 
ministry. 

No  matter  what  sacrifices  a  man  must  make,  he  should 
bless  God  that  he  has  ever  been  called  to  this  work.  It 
is  full  of  blessedness  here  and  now  ;  it  has  the  promise 
of  greater  glory  hereafter.  I  have  read  of  a  devoted 
servant  of  God,  one  of  the  early  missionaries  in  North- 
ern New  York,  5,  man  who  knew  all  the  hardships  of 
ministerial  life  as  we  younger  men  do  not  know  them, 
who,  toward  the  close  of  his  life,  said  :  "  I  have  for 
fifty-one  years  preached  the  Gospel  of  Christ  in  the  midst 
of  some  hardships  and  many  comforts  ;  and  though  I 
may  truly  say  that  I  do  not  fear  death,  but  look  upon  it 


=T 


HUMAN   MliflSTnY   A   DIVINE  GIFT. 


213 


d 


Ist 

I 

it 


■with  great  calmness,  yet  if  it  should  please  God  to  renew 
my  term  of  office,  I  would  joyfully  accept  a  commission 
to  preach  the  Gospel  clear  up  to  the  day  of  judgment." 

I  feel  deeply  grateful  to  God  for  His  favor  in  putting 
me  into  the  ministry.  It  was  not  my  chosen  employ- 
ment. I  cherished  the  hope  of  serving  God  in  the  walks 
of  business  life.  Any  service  is  blessed  ;  this  is  pecul- 
iarly blessed.  I  am  thankful  for  the  opportunity  to 
share,  as  your  pastor,  in  your  joys  ;  to  bear  with  you 
your  sorrows  ;  to  help  you  in  your  intellectual  doubts  ; 
to  stand  beside  you  in  all  the  conflicts  of  life  ;  and  1  am 
unspeakably  thankful  for  the  hope  of  standing  one  day 
before  Christ  and  saying  :  "  Here  am  I  and  the  children, 
in  the  Gospel,  whom  Thou  hast  given  me." 

2.  A  second  thought  in  this  text  is  that  all  ability 
rightly  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  ministry  is  the  gift 
of  Christ — **  I  thank  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  who  hath 
encMed  m^."  The  gifts  of  mind  and  heart  required  for 
this  work  are  many  and  varied.  But,  however  numerous 
and  various  they  may  be,  they  all  come  from  Christ. 
Ho  is  the  source  of  true  spiritual  life  and  power  to  those 
who  successfully  **  preach  the  Word."  They  need 
special  grace  in  their  own  inner  life.  To  preach  power- 
fully the  truth  a  man  must  have  felt  its  power.  Ho 
mupt  have  appropriated  it  in  its  saving  effects  in  his  own 
heart's  experience.  A  more  hollow  and  heartless  work 
no  man  ever  engaged  in  than  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
when  a  man  has  not  himself  realized  it  to  be  *'  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation."  God  save  me  from  such  de- 
grading slavery  and  abhorrent  impiety. 

The  ministry  needs  the  weapons  which  the  highest  and 
most  varied  culture  in  science,  art,  and  literature  can 
furnish.  Every  field  of  investigation  is  open  ;  every 
lawful  weapon  is  to  be  used  ;  but  power  to  do  good  work 


m 


I 


2U 


CHRIST,    AND    IIIM    CRUCIFIED. 


for  God  is  the  gift  of  God  in  Christ.  *'  All  power  be- 
longeth  unto  Me,"  saith  God.  In  the  depths  of  his  soul 
tlie  minister  needs  to  realize  this.  He  must  glory  in  the 
cross  ;  he  must  feel  that  he  is  anointed  of  God  to 
preach.  It  was  well  said  bj  a  brilliant  young  preacher, 
now  dead,  John  Milton  Holmes  :  **  The  stream  can  rise 
no  higher  than  the  fountain-head.  If  the  fountain  is 
not  far  above  the  ambition,  the  strength,  the  joy  of  the 
world,  then  the  si  reams  of  Zion  will  soon  be  dry.  In 
parish  life,  in  pulpit  life,  in  study  life,  the  strength  -  f 
God  must  be  as  constant  and  as  vital  as  the  fresh  air. 

♦  .  .  According  to  the  Greek  mythology,  wlien  Hercules 
wrestled  with  Anteus,  he  could  not  master  him.  Anteus 
was  small  and  Hercules  was  large.  Anteus  was  puny, 
Hercules  was  renowned  for  invincible  strength.  Yet 
Hercules  was  baffled,  because  his  oj)ponent  was  all  the 
while  receiving  thrills  of  strength  from  his  mother  earth. 
So  long  as  he  touched  the  earth,  he  was  strong  and  safe. 
Hercules  at  last  succeeded  in  lifting  him  up  in  the  air, 
and  then  Anteus,  in  his  own  unaided  strength,  was  un- 
able to  resist  the  death-grip  of  the  conqueror.  What  the 
earth  was  to  Anteus  heaven  is  to  the  Christian  minister  ; 
thence  he  derives  his  daily  latrength,  and  calmly  exclaims, 

*  1  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  who  strengtheneth 
me.'  "  Brethren,  pray  for  me,  that  in  all  things  I  may 
have  divine  wisdom  and  power. 

3.  We  learn  also  from  this  text,  in  the  third  place, 
that  genuine  fidelity  as  well  as  true  ability  must  come 
from  Christ — "  For  that  He  counted  me  faithful." 

There  were  elements  of  true  manliness  in  Paul  before 
his  conversion.  He  was  faithful  to  what  he  believed  as 
a  Jew.  Still  he  has  reference  here  especially  to  the 
faithfulness  which  grace  bestowed  on  him.  Christ 
counted  him  faithful,  because  He  made  and  kept  him  so 


HUMAN  MINISTRY   A   DIVINE  GIFT. 


215 


by  His  grace — making  him  a  steward  of  the  manifold 
mysteries  of  God.  Nowliere  else  in  God's  kingdom  are 
such  trusts  committed  to  men  ;  and  no  one  ought  to 
assume  these  trusts  who  is  not  determined,  by  God's 
help,  to  be  faithful  to  them.  The  Christian  minister 
should  be  faithful,  first,  in  declaring  **  the  glorious  Gospel 
of  the  blessed  God."  He  must  preach  the  whole  coun- 
sel of  God,  He  dare  not  refuse  to  speak  anything  which 
God  has  commanded.  To  him  comes  always  the  mes- 
sage :  *'  Go,  stand  and  speak  in  the  temple  to  the  people 
all  the  words  of  tliis  life."  The  true  minister  has  no 
option.  He  belongs  to  Christ.  His  word  is  law.  The 
preacher  must  do  his  duty.  Souls  are  required  of  him. 
Their  blood  must  not  be  found  on  him.  In  the  discharge 
of  this  duty,  he  may  often  have  to  run  counter  to  the 
prejudices  of  his  hearers.  He  must  never  give  needless 
offence  ;  but  he  must  be  faithful.  Nothing  will  ever 
justify  a  minister  in  causelessly  wounding  the  feelings  of 
any  ;  but  nothing  will  ever  justify  him  in  withholding 
God's  truth,  even  at  the  expense  of  wounding  the  feel- 
ings of  some.  A  wise  man  may  be  faithful,  and  yet 
speak  60  tenderly  as  to  win  the  love  and  secure  the  con- 
viction of  right-minded  hearers,  even  when  preaching 
what  at  the  first  was  unwelcome  truth.  This  requires 
tlic  wisdom  of  the  serpent  and  the  harmlessness  of  the 
dove.  ' 

The  preacher  must  be  faithful  to  the  interests  of  the 
local  church.  He  will  have  many  other  duties  which 
will  demand  his  attention.  He  must  not  forget,  how- 
ever, that  he  is  a  pastor  of  a  particular  church.  But  a 
church  must  leave  the  disposition  of  the  pastor's  time 
largely  to  his  own  judgment.  I  know  that  I  am  often 
best  serving  you  by  spending  my  time  in  my  study  with 
my  books,  when  some  of  you  might  think  I  could  best 


216 


CinilST,    AND   Iini   CRUCIFIED. 


serve  you  by  chatting  with  you  in  your  parlor.  If  you 
have  confidence  in  me,  you  will  be  willing  to  leave  many 
of  these  things  to  my  own  judgment.  I  recognize  at 
once  that  you  have  the  first  claims  upon  me.  It  is  in 
the  discharge  of  these  claims  that  1  am  often  engaged  in 
work  for  other  denominations,  and  for  our  own  denomi- 
nation in  its  city  and  national  work.  As  a  church,  you 
stand  in  certain  relations  to  the  Christian  world  and  the 
Baptist  denomination  ;  and  I  cannot  be  faithful  to  you 
except  I  am  willing  to  discharge  the  duties  which  these 
relations  make  binding  upon  us.  I  am,  therefore,  often 
doing  your  work  when,  perhaps,  some  of  you  think  I  am 
neglecting  it,  and  doing  work  which  belongs  neither  to 
you  nor  me.     Faithfulness  to  you  covers  a  wide  range. 

I  recognize  also,  in  the  position  which  I  occupy,  that 
I  am  to  be  faithful  to  the  principles  of  the  Baptist  de- 
nomination.  I  accept  these  principles,  because  I  believe 
they  are  taught  in  Scripture.  If  I  did  not  so  believe, 
I  would  not  hold  them  for  a  single  hour.  No  denomi- 
national authority  could  compel  me.  I  became  your 
pastor  on  a  well-defined  basis  of  belief —understood  by 
you  in  calling  me,  and  understood  by  me  in  accepting 
that  call.  Now,  I  affirm  that  the  moment  I  cannot  con- 
scientiously hold  these  views,  that  moment  I  should 
cease  to  be  yoar  pastor.  I  received  ordination,  and  was 
admitted  into  the  Baptist  ministry,  on  the  basis  of  beliefs 
held  now,  as  of  old,  by  the  denomination.  These  views 
were  well  understood  by  me,  and  by  those  who  welcomed 
me  into  this  great  brotherhood.  Now,  I  hold  that  the 
moment  I  abandon  these  views  I  should  cease  to  call 
myself  a  Baptist  minister.  Common  honesty — recog- 
nized everywhere  among  business  men — not  to  speak  of 
higher  claims,  demands  this.  All  these  relations  are 
voluntary.     Wo  enter  them  without  compulsion.     Both 


HUMAN   MINISTRY   A   DIVINE   GIFT. 


217 


parties  accept  the  basis  of  belief.  Surely  when  either 
party  repudiates  that  belief,  the  relation  should  be  dis- 
solved, and  the  name  it  implies  abandoned. 

Just  now,  in  certain  quarters,  opposite  views  prevail ; 
and  men  are  lauded  in  proportion  as  they  aro  unfaithful 
to  their  ordination  and  other  vows.  Surely  common 
honesty  will  not  always  be  at  such  a  discount.  I  greatly 
admire  the  course  which  the  Eev.  W.  T.  Sabine  has  re- 
cently pursued.  When  ho  found  himself  no  longer  able 
conscientiously  to  teach  the  doctrines  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  as  laid  down  in  its  prayer-book  and* 
rituals,  he  quietly  resigned  his  position,  and  left  the  de- 
nomination. I  think  he  was  much  more  consistent  than 
many  in  that  Church,  who  practically  repudiate  its  dis- 
tinctive teachings,  and  yet  insist  upon  remaining  in  it — 
using  its  name,  and  enjoying  the  social  position  and  other 
emoluments  which  that  name  gives.  1  agree  with  the 
views  which  these  men  hold  in  opposition  to  some  of  the 
practices  of  that  Church  ;  but  I  do  heartily  disagree  with 
them  in  endeavoring  to  retain  that  connection  while  hold-  ^ 
ing  jch  views.  Is  an  oath  to  obey  a  bishop  less  binding 
than  an  ordinary  promise  to  an  ordinary  man  ?  It  will 
not  do  to  say  that  the  oath  is  capable  of  several  inter- 
pretations. What  is  its  natural  meaning  ?  What  was 
the  understanding  of  the  oath  mutually  agreed  to  when 
it  was  taken  ?  If  a  man  cannot  conscientiously  obey  his 
spiritual  superior,  whom  he  ha&  solemnly  promised  to 
obey,  he  ought  to  leave  the  Church  over  which  that 
superior  presides. 

These  principles  apply  to  ourselves.  There  are  men 
who  were  ordained  and  installed  as  pastors^of  Baptist 
churches  on  the  well-defined  basis  of  our  beliefs.  These 
men  have  abandoned  these  views.  They  have  a  perfect 
right  to  do  that ;  no  one  questions  that  right.     But  they 


I 


->*  ; 


r 


218 


CHRIST,    AND  HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


hare  no  right  to  retain  their  connection  with  the  churches 
after  they  have  repudiated  the  principles  on  whicli  that 
connection  was  formed.  Out  upon  such  dislionesty  I 
It  is  unworthy  of  any  partnership  in  a  business  firm,  let 
alone  the  relation  of  a  pastor  to  his  people.  I  do  not 
envy  the  reputation,  among  all  honest  men,  of  those 
pastors  who  have  been  placed  over  churches  by  assenting 
to  certain  views  and  who  are  determined  to  keep  their 
places,  and  secure  a  living,  although  they  have  aban- 
doned the  principles  which  procured  them  their  positions. 
These  principles  are  important.  A  short  time  ago  in  the 
city  of  Chicago,  one  denomination  was  greatly  disturbed, 
and  to-day  another  in  that  city  is,  because  of  the  failure 
to  reduce  these  views  to  practice. 

Brethren,  I  will  never  give  you  trouble  from  this 
cause.  When  I  can  no  longer  subscribe  to  Baptist  prin- 
ciples, I  shall  no  longer  claim  to  be  a  Baptist.  "When  I 
can  no  longer  preach  the  views  on  which  you  accepted 
me  as  your  pastor,  I  shall  cease  to  be  your  pastor — I 
shall  cease  to  call  myself  a  Baptist  mmister.  God  forbid 
that  I  should  scatter  and  destroy  the  flock  over  which 
He  has  placed  me.  I  pray  that  in  this,  too,  I  may  bo 
*' counted  faithful." 

4.  Tliere  is  this  further  thought :  All  true  ministers 
liavo  been  put  into  this  service  by  Christ — **  putting  mo 
into  the  ministry."  To  Paul  it  was  a  very  real  one. 
lie  felt  that  he  had  been  literally  put  into  this  service. 
He  heard  the  voice  of  Christ  saying  to  him  :  **  But  rise, 
and  stand  upon  thy  feet :  for  I  have  appeared  unto  thee 
for  this  purpose,  to  make  thee  a  minister  and  a  witness 
both  of  these  things  which  thou  hast  seen,  and  of  those 
things  in  the  which  I  will  appear  unto  thee."  Paul 
*'  was  not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision. "  I  believe 
in  the  old-fashioned  ^*  call'''  to  the  ministry  ;  I  believe 


HUMAN  MIXISTRT   A   DIVINE  GIFT. 


210 


God  now,  as  in  the  days  of  Jeremiah,  condemns  those 
who  answer  when  they  are  not  called  :  **  I  have  not  sent 
these  prophets,  yet  they  ran  ;  I  liave  not  spoken  to  tlicm, 
yet  they  prophesied.*'  God  only  can  properly  call  and 
qualify  men  to  preach  the  everlasting  Gospel.  We  mu?it 
never  lose  sight  of  this  truth.  Our  fathers  made  false 
inferences  from  it,  when  they  discarded  education  and 
other  equipments  for  their  ministers.  But  they  were 
right  in  emphasizing  the  truth.  God  alone  can  give  the 
tools  to  His  workmen.  Education  may  assist  in  sharpen- 
ing those  tools  ;  but  even  this  education,  to  be  success- 
ful, must  be  considered,  not  apart  from  God,  but  as  one 
of  His  appointed  methods,  in  accomplishing  His  divine 
purposes.  I  thank  God  that  the  deepest  experience  of 
my  life  is,  that  I  was  called  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
This  occasion  will  justify,  1  trust,  these  personal  allu- 
sions. 1  could  as  soon  doubt  the  reality  of  my  own  ex- 
istence as  the  reality  of  this  call.  One  evidence  that 
God  calls  a  man  to  preach  is,  that  He  calls  a  congrega- 
tion to  hear  him.  I  thank  God,  that  He  has  given  us, 
to  a  good  degree,  this  evidence.  I  know  it  is  far  from 
being  conclusive  evidence  that  a  man  is  called  of  God 
because  ho  has  a  congregation  to  hear  him  ;  but  I  believe 
that  if  a  man  is  so  called,  he  will  have  a  congregation  to 
hear  him. 

I  would  thank  God  for  putting  me  into  the  ministry 
anywhere.  I  thank  Him  still  more  for  giving  me  a  place 
in  this  great  city.  It  is  a  grand  city.  New  York  sits 
like  a  queen  on  her  island  throne.  The  wealth,  the  pov- 
erty, the  good,  the  bad  of  the  world  are  brought  to  her. 
New  York,  like  a  mighty  reservoir,  draws  in  brain  and 
muscle  from  all  parts  of  the  country  ;  and  she  send",  out 
again  her  streams  to  bless  or  curse  mankind.  There  is 
no  greater  centre  of  brain  power,  as  seen  in  magazines, 


M 


220 


CHRIST,    AND  IIIM  CUUCIPIBD. 


newspapers,  and  books,  on  this  continent  than  New 
York.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  strike  for  God  and  His 
truth  liere,  a^.  the  centre  of  influence  for  this  entire 
cojntry.  I  feel  the  inspiration  of  this  great  city  ;  I  feel 
sometimes  as  if  it  would  swallow  me  up — as  if  I  could 
not  stem  its  tide  of  worldlincss  and  excitement.  But  if 
there  is  much  evil  here,  there  is  also  much  good.  If  it  is 
the  worst,  it  is  also  the  best  city  on  the  continent.  The 
largest  liberality,  the  noblest  manhood,  and  the  most  con- 
secrated womanhood  I  have  ever  known  I  have  seen 
here. 

I  bless  and  thank  God  that  He  has  put  me  into  the 
ministry  in  this  church.  I  love  you  all.  You  were  my 
first,  and,  thus  far,  my  only  love.  You  took  me  with- 
out the  knowledge  which  age  gives,  and  without  the 
wisdom  which  comes  from  experience.  You  took  me 
when  my  stock  was  below  par ;  if  it  has  come  up  any 
since,  you  deserve  the  credit,  and  you  shall  have  the 
profit. 

God  has  blessed  our  imperfect  endeavors.  Our  actual 
membership  has  more  than  doubled  during  these  four 
years.  The  Spirit  has  been  with  us  continually.  Wo 
have  striven  to  develop  symmetrical  Christian  character, 
and  to  honor  God's  Word  by  giving  its  study  a  promi- 
nent place  in  our  work.  We  have  cultivated  a  spirit  of 
liberality  in  time  and  money.  Never  before,  in  the 
history  of  this  church,  was  so  much  money  raised  for  be- 
nevolent objects.  More  than  $70,000  have  been  given 
since  I  became  your  pastor,  four  years  ago  to-day  ;  and  of 
this  amount,  $50,000  have  been  given  since  October  1st, 
1872,  and  half  of  the  fifty  during  the  past  associational 
year.  These  amounts  do  not  include  all  the  private  con- 
tributions ;  they  simply  show  what  appears  on  the  church 
books.     We  have  given  great  prominence  to  the  younger 


HUMAN   MINISTUY  A   DIVINE  GIFT. 


221 


element  in  the  church,  and  the  result  has  justified  our 
course.  With  gratitude  we  mention  the  fact  that  but 
one  of  our  members  lias  died  during  the  past  year,  and 
that  the  kindest  relations  exist  between  the  pastor  and 
all  the  officers  of  the  church. 

In  the  future  as  in  the  past,  our  motto  will  be  : 
**  Christ,  and  Him  crucified."  I  trust  I  may  be  the 
kind  of  minister  so  finely  described  by  a  sweet  singer  : 

"  In  his  daty  prompt  at  every  call,  ,i^    i  , 

He  watched  and  wept,  he  prayed  and  felt  for  all ; 
And  as  a  bird  each  fond  endeaiment  tries, 
To  tenipt  ils  new-fledged  offspring  to  the  skies, 
./      He  tried  each  art,  reproved  each  dull  delay, 
• ,  Allured  to  brighter  worlds,  and  lad  the  way." 


XVIII. 

MARVELLOUS  KINDNESS  IN   A  STRONG 

CITY.* 


ii.i 

il: 


"Blessed  be  the  Lord  :  for  He  hath  shewed  me  His  mirrellonn 
kiadness  in  a  strong  city." — Fsa.  31  :  21. 

Tins  psalm  is  attributed  to  David.  Some  writers, 
however,  find  in  it  many  resemblances  to  Jeremiah.  Its 
tenderness  and  plaintiveness  resemble  the  Book  of  Lamen- 
tations. Competent  critics,  like  Ewald  and  Hitzig,  be- 
lieve that  Jeremiah  was  its  author.  The  resemblances 
between  the  psalm  and  some  portions  of  the  writings  of 
Jeremiah  are  certainly  very  marked.  But  Perowne 
suggests  that  the  prophet  Jeremiah  may  have  borrowed 
from  the  psalmist,  or  that  the  psalmist— who  may  have 
been  one  of  the  later  poets — borrowed  from  the  prophet. 
The  first  of  these  suppositions  is  the  more  likely,  and  the 
psalm  is  David's  in  all  probability.  As  the  same  judi- 
cious writer  remarks  :  **  It  breathes  his  rare  tenderness 
of  spirit  as  well  as  his  faith  and  courage."  Many  of  the 
figures  are  in  the  most  perfect  harmony  with  the  manner 
of  Israel's  sweet  and  royal  singer. 

It  is  impossible  to  decide  on  what  occasion  it  was  writ- 
ten. The  deliverance  referred  to  may  be  David's  nar- 
row escape  at  Keilah,  or  the  time  when  he  fled  from 
Saul  into  the  wilderness  of  Maon.  We  cannot  decide 
this  point.      The  psalm  is  divided  into  three  principal 


*  Tenth  anniversary  sermon  preached  on  Sanday  morning  nearest 
May  15th,  1880. 


MARVELLOUS   KINDNESS   IN   A   STRONG   CITY. 


823 


parts.  The  first  includes  tlie  first  eight  verses.  In  this 
part  the  writer  prays  to  God  to  be  gracious  to  him  and 
expresses  his  unwavering  faith.  The  second  part  begins 
witli  the  ninth  and  goes  to  the  end  of  the  eightccntli 
verse.  Here  the  story  of  the  writer's  sufferings  is  told, 
and  God  is  again  besought  to  lift  upon  him  the  light  of 
His  countenance  and  to  humiliate  his  er.emies.  The 
third  part  goes  from  the  nineteenth  verso  to  the  end  of 
the  psalm.  Here  we  have  praise  and  chanksgiving  to 
God  for  His  goodness  to  all  who  trust  Him. 

In  the  text  he  turns  from  the  general  truth  stated  in 
this  part  of  the  psalm,  to  its  application  in  his  own  ex- 
perience. What  is  meant  by  the  strong  or  fenced  city  ? 
Is  there  an  historical  reference  in  the  words  ?  Perhaps 
80.  If  so,  the  city  may  be  Ziklag,  a  fortified  city,  where 
David  took  refuge  with  Achish,  King  of  Gath.  Others 
suppose  that  Keilaii  is  the  city  referred  to.  Perhaps  it 
is  better  to  understand  tlio  expression  as  metaphorical. 
It  is  as  if  David  had  said,  "I  am  as  if  in  a  fortified 
city." 

These  words  express  my  thoughts  to-day  :  *'  Blessed 
be  the  Lord  :  for  He  hath  shewed  me  His  marvellous 
kindness  in  a  strong  city."  Ten  years  ago  this  morning 
I  stood  in  this  place  for  the  first  time  as  the  pastor  of 
this  church.  Not  only  did  1  then  enter  upon  my  pastor- 
ate here,  but  upon  my  first  pastorate  anywhere.  I  came 
to  you  immediately  upon  the  completion  of  my  studies. 
On  May  15th,  1870,  the  work  was  begun.  The  text  on 
that  occasion  was,  **  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and 
so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ"  (Gal.  6  :  2).  In  the  course 
of  the  sermon  these  words  were  used  :  **  In  entering 
upon  this  relationship  to-day,  I  may  be  permitted  to 
speak  more  personally  than  would  otherwise  be  fitting. 
Kot  unadvisedly  and  thoughtlessly,  but,  as  I  trust,  in  the 


^  '• 


(.IIUIST, 


AND  HIM  CUUCIFIED. 


!l|l 


fear  of  God  and  love  of  Christ,  do  I  como  to  you  to- 
day. Tlio  strongest  conviction  of  my  life  is  that  God 
has  called  me,  all  unworthy  as  I  am,  to  preach  Ills 
Gospel.  Long  did  my  rebellious  heart  strive  against  the 
promptings  of  His  Spirit,  until  the  tender  love  of  Jesus 
my  Saviour  melted  me  into  submission,  and  I  said  : 
*  Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have  mo  to  do  V  God  has  led 
mo  by  ways  of  which  I  never  dreamed.  lie  has  revealed 
Himself  to  mo  as  a  tender  Father  who  does  not  despise 
the  weakest  of  His  children.  You  have  called  me  here — 
not  you,  I  hope,  but  God.  I  am  now  yours  in  Christ's 
worTc.  Having  given  Ilim  tho  early  years  of  boyhood, 
I  now  consecrate  to  Iliu^  tho  riper  years  of  early  man- 
hood. Without  tho  experience  which  comes  from  ago 
and  tho  discipline  of  trial,  I  shall  have  to  ask  you  to 
bear  with  me  my  burdens,  and,  as  God  enables  me,  I 
hope  to  help  you  bear  yours.  Our  joys  and  sorrows,  our 
failures  and  successes  henceforth  are  mutual.  We  lay 
ourselves  and  all  we  have  and  are  upon  the  altar  of 
Christ  this  morning,  beseeching  Him  for  His  great  love's 
sake  to  grant  us  the  honor  of  spending  and  being  spent 
in  His  service.  Let  us  so  illustrate  the  spirit  of  Christ 
that  this  church  shall  be  in  the  highest  sense  a  Christian 
home — a  home  to  which  our  hearts  shall  ever  turn.  May 
we  so  learn  Christ  that  we  shall  lind  in  His  people  hero 
the  dearest  of  all  earthly  society,  that  young  and  old  may 
feel  it  to  be  a  privilege  and  honor  to  belong  to  this 
church  of  Christ.'* 

These  words  were  spoken  ten  years  ago.  They  struck 
the  key-note  of  this  hoped-for  ministry.  Ten  years  have 
gone.  What  of  this  hope  have  they  realized  ?  They 
have  been  marked  by  many  shortcomings  and  failures  ; 
but  they  have  borne  constant  testimony  to  God's  marvel- 
lous kindness  in  this  strong  city.     They  were  entered  on 


MARVELLOUS   KIKDNESS   IX   A   STRONO   CITY.        225 


with  many  misgivingfl  ;  tho  congregations  wcro  Bmall, 
and  tho  prayer-moot iniijs  wcro  noithor  largo  nor  warm. 
Tho  pastor  could  hriiig  neitlier  cxpurienco  nor  reputa- 
tion. Other  pulpits  wore  filled  with  men  who  had  both 
experience  and  reputation.  Wo  all  felt  tho  need  of  re- 
lying upon  God,  as  if  IIo  must  do  all,  and  of  using  our 
best  endeavors,  as  if  wo  must  do  all.  So  tho  work  be- 
gan ;  80  the  years  have  come  and  gone.  In  a  spirit  of 
gratitude  to  God  this  morning  let  us  recount  the  '  j.'ood- 
ness  and  mercy'*  which  like  twin  angels  have  followed 
us  through  these  ten  years.  We  can  say.  Blessed  be  the 
Lord  for  His  marvellous  kindness  in  a  strong  city. 

1.  Because  of  the  material  prosperity  which  He  has 
given  us. 

Fortunately  when  tho  present  pastorate  was  begun, 
there  was  no  funded  debt  on  this  house.  There  was  a 
small  floating  debt  which  was  soon  removed.  Had  there 
been  a  large  debt,  probably  this  ministry  would  never 
have  been  attempted.  Great  sacrifices  were  made  by 
my  beloved  and  honored  predecessor,  Dr.  Gillette,  and 
those  associated  with  him.  But  notwithstanding  their 
sacrifices  and  their  successes  a  debt  at  the  conclusion  of 
his  ministry  here  remained.  During  the  pastorate  of 
Dr.  Buckland,  one  of  our  wisest  and  best  men — a  brother 
to  whom  I  am  indebted  more  than  any  words  can  ex- 
press, Nathan  Bishop,  LL.D. — took  the  lead  in  the  effort 
to  have  the  debt  removed.  He  acted  simply  in  accord- 
ance with  his  judgment  and  conscience,  and  not  under 
the  impulse  of  any  general  debt-paying  movement,  such 
as  we  have  since  seen  inaugurated  among  the  churches. 
It  was  a  great  undertaking.  The  number  of  members 
then  was  small  as  compared  with  the  present  number. 
Some  who  were  able  were  not  hopeful  of  success  and  did 
not  do  what   perhaps  they  might   have  done  to  insure 


22G 


CHBI8T,    AND  HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


success.  But  the  noble  man  toiled  on  ;  ochers  gave 
time,  money,  and  counsel,  and  finally  the  debt  was  paid, 
without  asking  help  from  any  outside  sources.  It  was  a 
grand  work,  grandly  done.  All  honor  to  the  noble  men 
and  women  who  did  it.  Had  the  debt  not  been  removed 
then,  its  presence  would  have  seriously  crippled  us. 
Hard  times  soon  followed,  and  perhaps  but  for  the  fore- 
sight and  sacrifice  of  a  few  then,  we  might  have  a  debt 
to  this  hour.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  other  churches  did 
not  do  likewise.  Half  the  churches  that  are  groaning 
under  heavy  debts  might  have  removed  them  years  ago 
if  a  like  spirit  of  wise  self-sacrifice  had  prevailed. 

In  the  summer  of  1871  quite  extensive  changes  were 
made  in  our  house  of  worship.  The  walls  were  refrescoed, 
the  wood-work  repainted,  the  floors  recarpeted,and  a  sky- 
light put  in,  thus  relie  /ing  the  church  of  its  former  gloom  ; 
at  that  time  also  our  new  and  admirable  baptistery  was 
constructed.  These  changes  cost  us  a  considerable  sum, 
which  soon  was  promptly  paid  by  voluntary  offerings. 
The  next  summer  we  refurnished  and  refrescoed  our 
lecture-room,  at  a  cost  of  $1000  ;  and  this  amount  also 
was  promptly  paid.  During  all  these  years  the  current 
expenses  of  the  church,  which  are  about  $10,000  a  year, 
have  been  met,  and  the  floating  debt  of  ten  years  ago  has 
been  paid  by  the  regular  income  from  ppw  rentals  and 
collections.  No  special  collection  has  ever  been  taken 
to  make  up  deficits  ;  for  tliis  result  I  am  heartily  glad. 
It  would  have  made  me  uncomfortable  to  feel  that  friends 
were  making  personal  sacrifices  in  addition  to  pew  rents 
to  pay  the  pastor's  salary  and  other  current  expenses. 
Of  course  our  expenses  have  not  been  so  high  as  they  are 
in  many  churches  in  our  great  city.  If  we  had  a  large 
number  of  desirable  pews  at  low  rates  they  could  be 
rented  even  now  in  this  springtime  when  the  tendency  is 


I 


1^ 

■ 


MARVELLOUS  KINDNESS  IN  A  STRONG   CITY.        227 


'/-•?■'-(. 


to  go  oat  of  the  city  ;  but,  unfortunately,  we  have  not. 
Neither  have  we  ever  adopted  what  is  called  the  **  En- 
velope System."  But  it  is  desirable,  and  it  is  expected, 
that  every  member  who  can  at  all  afford  it  should  give  a 
certain  amount  weekly  according  as  the  Lord  has  pros- 
pered each.  This  amount  can  be  put  into  the  basket 
as  it  is  passed  ;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  largo 
number  of  our  people  have  not  hitherto  felt  their  obliga- 
tions in  this  respect.  Even  when  they  are  absent  from 
the  city  the  expenses  of  the  church  continue,  and  they 
should  make  provision  for  a  continuance  of  their  con- 
tribution to  its  support.  Blessed  be  the  Lord  for  His 
kindness  to  us  in  regard  to  material  support  in  the  past ; 
and  let  us  all  from  this  day  forth  strive  to  contribute 
more  for  the  support  of  His  cause  in  this  strong  city. 

2.  A  second  cause  for  gratitude  to-day  is  found  in  the 
peace  and  harmony  which  have  prevailed  during  these 
ten  years.  Indeed,  the  same  remark  will  apply,  with 
more  or  less  fitness,  to  the  whole  history  of  the  church. 
But  we  are  more  especially  interested  to-day  in  the  ten 
years  under  review.  Scarcely  during  that  time  has  even 
a  ripple  disturbed  the  smooth  surface  of  our  church  life. 
We  have  been  at  peace  among  ourselves  ;  we  have  been 
at  peace  with  all  our  brethren  of  our  own  churches,  and 
with  those  of  other  denominations.  It  is  a  serious  mat- 
ter for  a  church  to  assume  a  position  which  becomes  a 
source  of  trouble  and  misunderstanding  among  the 
churches  of  its  own  denomination.  Seldom,  indeed,  is 
a  church  justified  in  assuming  such  a  position.  Never 
has  there  been  an  unkinder  word  spoken  in  a  business 
meeting  than  the  words  I  am  speaking  at  this  moment. 
Surely  we  ought  to  say  with  the  psalmist,  '  *  Blessed  be 
the  Lord,  who  hath  shewed  us  His  marvellous  kindness'' 
in  this  respect,.      .: 


I') 


a 


228 


CHRIST,    AND  HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


But  ours  has  not  been  the  peace  of  death.  We  liave 
rather  illustrated  the  apostle's  words  when  he  says,  "  life 
and  peace  ;"  rather  a  remarkable  combination  of  words. 
"Where  there  is  independence  of  thought  and  action  in  a 
church  of  this  size  it  is  inevitable  that  differences  of 
opinion  will  arise  ;  but  where  the  spirit  of  Christ  pre- 
vails these  personal  preferences  will  never  be  pushed  so 
as  to  destroy,  or  even  to  disturb,  the  harmony  of  the 
Church  of  Christ.  The  existence  of  a  judicious  Advisory 
Committee,  before  which  all  matters  of  business  shall 
come,  has  contributed  much  to  the  harmony  which  has 
prevailed.  Much  of  the  business  which  is  introduced 
into  many  of  our  churches  ought  never  to  be  introduced. 
Many  misunderstandings  might  be  settled  witliout  such 
publicity.  Church  meetings  seldom  really  settle  anj^- 
thing,  and  business  which  has  to  be  brought  in  ought 
first  to  be  so  matured  that  much  subseqjaent  discussion 
is  quite  unnecessary.  Ordinarily  the  fewer  business 
meetings  there  are  the  better.  Some  men  can  talk 
eloquently  in  business  meetings  where  a  whole  even, 
ing  is  given  to  this  purpose,  whose  voices  are  never  heard 
in  prayer  or  praise.  This  committee — as  its  name  im- 
plies— is  only  advisory  ;  it  has  no  legislative  power.  It 
is  simply  the  servant  of  the  church,  doing  the  work  for 
which  the  church  has  appointed  it.  It  is  the  paBcof'; 
cabinet.  With  such  a  committee,  a  Baptist  church  can 
have  all  the  advantages  of  churches  which  have  Sessions 
with  legislative  functions  ;  and  such  Baptist  churches 
may  still  retain  in  full  force  their  democratic  character. 
A  little  sanctified  common  sense  in  our  churches,  and 
church  quarrels  would  be  unknown.  We  have  never 
had  in  this  church  men  who  were  ambitious  to  rule.  We 
have  often  found  it  difficult  to  get  men  willing  to  take 
the  places  to  which  they  had  been  elected.     May  God 


MARVELLOUS    KINDNESS   IN"   A   STUOXG   CITY. 


2:29 


preserve  to  us  in  the  future  as  in  the  past  this  beautiful 
harmony  and  peace. 

3.  We  bless  God  to-day  for  His  kindness  to  us  in  giv- 
ing us,  to  some  degree,  a  missionary  and  aggressive  spirit. 
We  have  realized  that  an  anti-mission  church  is  an  anti- 
Christian  church.  We  have  learned  that  often  the  best 
way  to  strengthen  the  things  that  remain  is  vigorously  to 
attack  the  things  that  resist.  A  church  that  has  no  mis- 
sionary spirit  is  a  church  for  which  God  has  no  use,  the 
world  no  respect,  and  the  devil  no  dread.  Its  burial 
may  be  postponed  for  a  while,  but  it  is  dead.  We  have 
labored  for  rich  and  poor  alike.  Every  man  for  whom 
Christ  died  is  a  man  for  whom  we  should  live  and  labor. 
Only  those  who  have  no  well-recognized  social  position 
are  afraid  to  associate  with  those  who  may  be  a  Httlo 
below  them  in  the  social  scale.  Those  of  assured  position 
rejoice  in  reaching  out  the  hand  of  Christian  love. 
Those  who  are  afraid  of  compromising  their  position  by 
doing  Christ's  work  are  those  who  have  no  true  position 
to  compromise.  We  have  striven  to  ask,  **  Lord,  what 
wilt  Thou  have  us  to  do  ?"  All  other  considerations 
have  been  secondary.  We  have  taken  hold  earnestly  of 
our  city  mission  work.  During  these  ten  years  our  pres- 
ent society  has  been  formed.  It  has  been  wonderfully 
successful ;  indeed,  I  know  of  no  mission  work  similarly 
successful.  This  church  has  been  from  the  first  its  chief 
supporter.  We  have  given  money  with  a  liberal  hand, 
and  God  has  rewarded  us  a  thousandfold.  God  has  given 
us  a  great  field  in  this  city.  It  is  a  strong,  a  fortified 
city,  and  yet  it  has  great  elements  of  weakness.  As  the 
metropolitan  city  of  America,  first  in  wealth,  first  in 
numbers,  first  in  culture,  and  first  in  enterprise,  New 
>  York  exercises  a  controlling  influence  on  this  continent. 
Every  blow  struck  for  truth  here  echoes  from  the  At!an- 


Hi 


>^ 


230 


CIimST,    AND  HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


tic  to  the  Pacific.  Secretary  Sherman  said  in  New  York 
a  few  evenings  ago  that  soon  New  York  would  li.e  to  the 
cities  of  America  and  the  world,  what  Kome  was  to  the 
world  in  the  days  of  her  imperial  splendor  and  power. 
"We  hope  she  will  be  more  ;  for  New  York  has  what 
Rome  had  not,  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  To-day 
forty  languages  or  dialects  are  spoken  in  our  streets. 
To-day  the  semi-pagan  of  several  nationalities  and  the 
**  heathen  Chinee"  swarm  in  our  streets.  Foreign  mis- 
sion work  has  become  to  a  great  degree  home  mission 
work.  "We  send  missionaries  abroad,  and  we  do  well ; 
and  at  the  same  time,  God  is  sending  the  heathen  to  our 
doors.  Shall  wo  not  teach  them  ?  Not  less  for  Italians 
in  Rome,  but  more  for  Italians  in  New  York.  Not  less 
for  Germans  in  Germany,  but  more  for  tliose  in  New 
York.  Not  less  for  the  heathen  in  China  and  Burmah, 
but  more  for  all  these  lands  and  all  other  lands,  as  repre- 
sented in  New  York — this  should  be  our  motto.  Here 
the  great  problems,  social  and  religious,  are  to  be  solved. 
And  this  church  realizes  this.  We  are  Baptists  :  but 
we  are  more  ;  wo  are  Christians  and  citizens.  "We  take 
our  place  beside  men  of  every  name,  who  are  trying  to 
lift  the  fallen,  teach  the  ignorant,  and  save  the  lost.  The 
religion  of  Christ  teaches  us  that  whether  a  man  is  black 
or  white,  red  or  yellow,  **  a  man's  a  man  for  a'  that." 
There  are  churches  dying  of  conservatism,  propriety, 
and  stinginess.  Over  them  we  cannot  say,  **  Blessed  are 
the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord."  Let  us  not  die  the 
death  of  these  unrighteous.  **  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who 
hath  shewed  us  His  marvellous  kindness  in  a  strong 
city,"  in  giving  us  something  of  the  spirit  of  Christ  who 
came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost.  - 

-    4.  Growing  out  of  this,  and  akin  to  it,  is  another  cause 
for  gratitude — the  large-hearted  benevolence  which  this 


MARVELLOUS   KINDNESS  IN   A   STRONG    CITY.         231 

clmrch  has  shown.  The  rich  have  given  out  of  their 
abundance  ;  the  comparatively  poor  out  of  their  com- 
parative poverty,  and  those  literally  poor  out  of  their 
poverty.  We  have  learned  that  men's  pocket-books 
siiould  be  baptized.  We  have  not  much  sympathy  with 
the  man  who  had  been  a  member  of  a  church  for  twenty 
years,  and  who  said  that  it  had  cost  him  nothing.  Wo 
teach,  that  all  we  have  and  are  belongs  to  Christ ;  that 
we  are  only  His  stewards,  giving  back  to  Him  what  He 
has  given  to  us.  It  is  especially  gratifying  to  me  to  see 
how  the  young  men  and  women  have  taken  hold  of  that 
idea.  During  the  past  ten  years,  some  have  made  money 
in  considerable  sums  ;  and  they  have  given  it  with  a  lib- 
erality worthy  of  all  commendation  and  imitation.  If 
you  will  not  give  to  the  Lord  when  your  income  is  small, 
you  certainly  will  not  when  it  is  large.  Men's  hearts 
usually  grow  smaller  and  colder  as  their  incomes  grow 
larger.  But  when  the  habit  of  giving  has  been  early 
formed  it  can  be  easily  continued.  We  have  not  re- 
quired the  presence  of  the  agents  of  the  various  benevo- 
lent organizations.  The  pastor  has  almost  invariably  pre- 
sented all  causes  of  benevolence.  The  total  amount  of 
money  raised  during  the  ten  years  from  all  Services  is  a 
little  over  half  a  million  dollars.  Of  this  amount  $100,- 
000  came  from  pew  rentals  and  was  expended  in  current 
expenses.  The  remaining  $400,000  was  for  denomina- 
tional and  general  Christian  benevolence,  making  an 
average  of  $40,000  each  year.  The  years  of  largest  con- 
tributions were  this  current  year,  the  last  associational 
year,  and  the  Centennial  year.  The  largest  contributions 
have  been  for  our  beloved  Home  Mission  Society. 

6.  We  bless  God  also  that  He  has  kept  us,  as  we  be- 
lieve, loyal  to  the  essential  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  and 
the  distinctive  views  of  the  Baptist  denomination.     We 


23il 


CHUIST,    AND    niM    CRUCIFIED. 


havo  no  sympathy  with  that  false  liberalism  which  puts 
human  opinions  above  divine  revelation.  "We  believe 
the  Gospel  is  still  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.  It 
will  never  lose  that  power.  The  cross  is  still  the  mighti- 
est magnet  to  move  men  and  draw  them  to  God.  Away 
with  your  human  nostrums  I  "We  want  the  old  and  the 
over  new  Gospel.  Sin  is  still  the  same,  hell  is  the  same, 
heaven  the  same.  Kothing  but  the  water  of  life  can 
quench  the  soul's  burning  thirst ;  nothing  but  the  bread 
of  heaven  can  satisfy  its  hunger  ;  nothing  but  the  pre- 
cious blood  of  Christ  can  cleanse  its  crimson  stains. 

I  also  recognize  that  I  am  to  be  loyal  to  the  distinctive 
principles  of  the  Baptist  denomination.  1  accept  these 
principles  because  I  believe  they  are  taught  in  Scripture. 
If  I  did  not  so  believe,  I  would  not  hold  them  for  an 
hour.  Ko  denominational  authority  could  compel  me. 
I  became  your  pastor  and  was  ordained  by  you  on  a  well- 
defined  basis  of  belief,  understood  by  you  in  calling  me, 
and  understood  by  me  in  accepting  the  call.  The  longer 
I  study  these  matters  the  more  I  am  satisfied  of  the  scrip- 
turalness  of  our  views.  I  cannot  be  other  than  1  am  so 
long  as  God's  "Word  remains  as  authority  in  our  faith  and 
practice.  But  I  also  grow  in  charity  for  those  who  differ 
with  me.  All  men  who  love  Christ  and  labor  for  souls, 
I  love  and  shall  labor  with,  as  God  gives  opportunity. 

6.  Lastly,  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  for  He  hath  shewed  us 
His  marvellous  kindness  in  the  spiritual  prosperity  which 
we  have  enjoyed.  It  is  not  as  great  as  we  might  have 
had,  but  it  is  greater  far  than  we  have  deserved.  "We 
have  never  had,  what  in  the  technical  sense  is  called  a 
revival  ;  but  we  have  had  a  revival  spirit  all  the  time. 
Eviery  month,  often  every  week,  has  brought  forth  fruit. 
"We  have  sought  no  publicity  ;  we  have  not  aimed  to 
herald  our  work  ;  but  quietly,  steadily,  workfully,  and 


MARVELLOUS   KINDNESS  IN"  A   STRONG   CITY. 


233 


prayerfully  wo  have  moved  forward.  Men  in  some  other 
churches  liave  come  and  have  gone.  They  were  for  a 
time  in  the  public  prints  and  in  the  mouths  of  the  peo- 
ple. A  comet  will  always  attract  more  attention  than  a 
moon,  a  rocket  than  a  star  ;  but  after  comets  and  rockets 
have  gone  into  darkness,  the  moon  and  the  stars  will 
shine  on.  We  have  given  great  importance  to  the  or- 
dinary means  of  grace  ;  we  have  had  no  room  for  pro- 
tracted revival  efforts  ;  every  meeting  was  a  revival 
meeting ;  we  have  had  no  need  of  a  professional  evan- 
gelist ;  every  member  is  to  be  an  evangelist.  We  have 
made  much  of  our  prayer-meetings,  and  they  have  often 
been  to  many  of  us  occasions  of  wonderful  spiritual  bless- 
ings, and  God  has  given  us  power.  Our  young  people's 
meetings  have  grown  to  be  a  means  of  great  good  and 
varied  activity.  A  marked  feature  of  our  work  is  the 
large  number  of  active  and  devoted  young  men  and 
women.  Oar  women's  various  organizations  have  been 
managed  with  great  zeal  and  success.  Our  Sunday- 
school  has  nearly  quadrupled  its  numbers,  and  in  its  good 
order,  Bible  study,  missionary  zeal,  and  contributions, 
it  is  surpassed  by  few  schools  anywhere. 

There  have  been  many  pastoral  changes  in  some  of  our 
Baptist  churches.  During  these  ten  years  there  have 
been  five  different  pastors  in  some  of  our  churches.  In 
others  four,  in  others  three,  in  others  two.  Only  six  of 
our  churches  have  to-day  the  pastors  whom  they  had  ten 
years  ago.  These  pastors  are  Drs.  Williams,  Armitage, 
Norton,  and  Elder,  and  brethren  Brouner  and  Spelman. 
Short  pastorates  are  an  element  of  great  weakness  in  our 
churches.  They  make  all  broad,  deep,  permanent,  and 
symmetrical  work  impossible.  They  demoralize  min- 
isters, making  them  cowardly  when  difficult  questions 
in  administration  and  other  forms  of  hard  work  confront 


234 


CHUIST,    AND   IIIM    CRUCIFIED. 


i 


them.  No  pastor  can  do  good  work  in  his  present  posi- 
tion if  he  is  all  the  time  striving  to  get  a  call  to  another 
field.  Often  this  state  of  unrest  leads  pastors  to  resort 
to  means  to  secure  calls  which  must  be  despised  by  every 
high-minded  and  noble  man.  It  also  robs  them  of  the 
power  to  do  good,  hard  study,  making  them  fall  back  on 
old  material.  A  man  who  seeks  a  call  which  he  has  no 
thought  of  accepting  has  done  a  humiliating  thing.  In 
the  pastoral,  as  in  other  relations,  changes  are  not  always 
for  the  better.  We  must  bear  and  forbear.  Neither 
party  is  perfect.  To  get  a  perfect  pastor  one  must  be 
called  from  heaven,  and  only  a  perfect  church  might 
presume  to  call  him.  I  hope  I  may  be  the  first  to  dis- 
cover when  my  work  is  done  ;  I  hope  we  shall  in  Chris- 
tian love  go  hand-in-hand  and  heart-to-heart  in  the  work 
of  Christ. 

Many  who,  ten  years  ago,  were  with  us  are  now  with 
God.  Of  the  four  deacons  then.  Deacons  Cauldwell, 
Conklin,  Saulsbury,  and  Jessup,  but  one  remains  to  us, 
Deacon  Jessup  having  removed  to  Brooklyn  and  Deacons 
Cauldwell  and  Saulsbury  having  gone  to  their  reward. 
But  few  have  left  for  other  churches.  "With  many  of 
you  I  have  been  in  times  of  darkness  and  sorrow.  With 
your  tears  mine  have  fallen  ;  with  your  prayers  mine 
have  ascended.  The  years  have  sobered  but  not  sad- 
dened me  ;  they  have  chastened,  but  they  also  have  glad- 
dened me.  I  am  conscious  of  many  and  great  failures  ; 
and  I  thank  you  for  your  patience,  your  kindness,  your 
consideration.  We  have  done  something,  but  we  have 
not  attained  ;  the  mark  of  the  prize  is  still  before  us. 

We  remember  to-day  what  Bishop  Simpson  has  said 
of  Spain  :  **  Spain  once  held  both  sides  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean at  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  So  highly  did  she 
value  her  possessions  that  she  stamped  on  her  coin  the 


mmymemmm 


MARVELLOUS   KINDNESS   IN   A   STUONG   CITY. 


Ji35 


two  pillars  of  Hercules  (as  the  promontories  of  rock  were 
called)  ;  and  on  a  scroll  thrown  over  these  were  the  words 
Ne  plus  ultra — No  more  beyond.  But  one  day  a  bold 
spirit  sailed  far  beyond  these  pillars  and  found  a  new 
world  of  beauty.  Then  Spain,  wisely  convinced  of 
ignorance,  struck  the  word  Ne  from  the  coin  and  left 
Plus  ultra — More  beyond.'*  That  is  our  motto  to-day. 
What  have  the  next  ten  years  in  store  for  us  ?  Who  can 
tell  ?  What  changes  in  the  city,  in  our  location,  in  our 
homes,  in  our  lives  ?  The  tongue  that  speaks  may  long 
ere  that  time  be  singing  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb. 
Will  any  neglect  the  great  salvation  and  be  before  that 
time  where  hope  never  comes  ?  Eemember  that  you 
and  I  must  meet  at  the  bar  of  God  ;  preacher  and  people 
must  stand  face  to  face.  When  that  hour  comes  I  can 
say  that,  however  weak  the  messenger,  the  message  of 
the  glorious  Gospel  has  been  declared.  I  can  say  in  the 
presence  of  God  that  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare  all 
the  counsel  of  God  ;  I  have  e  'treated  and  warned.  Oh 
for  a  new  consecration  to  God  to-dav  I  Oh  for  the  fire 
of  holy  zeal  and  love  from  God's  throne  !  God  grant 
that  each  of  us  in  a  city  better  than  this,  a  city  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens,  may  look  back  over 
all  of  life  as  we  look  back  on  these  ten  years  and  say, 
Blessed  be  the  Lord,  for  His  marvellous  kindness  which 
He  hath  shewed  in  bringing  me  to  this  city  whose  twelve 
gates  are  twelve  pearls,  whose  streets  are  pure  gold,  and 
which  needs  no  sun  nor  moon  to  shine  in  it,  for  the 
Lamb  is  the  light  thereof. ' 


,  <*-;| 


XIX. 

THE   PLACE   TOO  STRAIT.* 

"  The  place  is  too  strait  for  me  :  give  place  to  me  that  I  may 
dwell."— ISA.  49  :  20. 

"  Enlarge  tho  place  of  thy  teut,  and  let  them  stretch  forth  the  cur- 
tains of  thine  habitations  ;  spare  not,  lengthen  thy  cords,  and 
strengthen  thy  stakes."— Iba.  64  :  2. 

We  hold  to-day  our  last  Sunday  services  in  this  house. 
"With  the  meeting  of  to-morrow  evening  this  will  cease 
to  be  a  house  of  worship.  Wo  would  be  unnatural,  un- 
christian, indeed,  if  some  elements  of  sorrow  did  not 
mingle  with  our  prayers  and  praises  to-day.  Tender  as- 
sociations  with  the  living,  tender  memories  of  the  dead 
gather  about  this  place  of  prayer.  Here  the  last  words 
have  been  spoken  over  our  beloved  dead  before  they 
were  borne  to  the  narrow  house  appointed  for  all  living. 
Here  young  and  joyous  hearts  have  taken  upon  them- 
selves the  vows  of  holy  matrimony.  Here  many  have 
learned  to  walk  in  the  narrow  way  which  leads  to  the 
house  of  many  mansions.  Here  your  pastor  was  exam- 
ined for  ordination  ;  here  he  knelt  while  the  hands  of 
the  Presbytery  were  laid  on  his  head,  while  earnest 
prayer  ascended  to  God  ;  here  he  first  administered 
baptism,  and  here  he  first  officiated  at  the  table  of  the 
Lord.     From  this  place  streams  of  blessing  have  flowed 


*  Preached  at  the  last  Sunday  morning  service  in  the  Calvary 
Church,  Twenty-third  Street,  July  1st,  1883. 


TUE   PLACE  TOO   STUAIT. 


237 


forth  to  all  parts  of  our  broad  land,  and  to  many  lands 
boyond  tlio  seas.  Tlio  old  home  has  become  dear  to  our 
hearts.  Often  have  wo  loft  here  our  crushing  burdens  ; 
often  hero  have  we  cauglit  now  inspirations  for  life's 
trials  and  triumphs.  This  place  has  often  been  a  Bethel 
to  our  souls — none  other  than  the  house  of  God  and  the 
very  gate  of  heaven.  Our  sorrow  is  natural ;  it  is  not 
unholy. 

There  are  considerations,  however,  which  tend  to  les- 
sen this  natural  grief,  and  which  give  us  joy  in  our  con- 
templated removal.  I  have  chosen  these  two  texts  of 
Scripture  for  this  morning  because  they  both  interpret 
God's  providence  in  relation  to  us.  The  first :  **  The 
place  is  too  strait  for  me  :  give  place  to  me  that  I  may 
dwell,"  declares  the  truth  which  we  have  by  His  provi- 
dence been  expressing  to  Goil.  The  second  :  '*  Enlarge 
the  place  of  thy  tent,  and  let  them  stretch  forth  the  cur- 
tains of  thine  habitations  ;  spare  not,  lengthen  thy  cords, 
and  strengthen  thy  stakes,"  is  the  command  which  God, 
by  providential  circumstances,  has  been  addressing  to  us 
for  the  past  few  years. 

1.  Let  me  say,  then,  in  the  first  place,  that  our  con- 
templated removal  is  in  harmony  with  all  our  historical 
precedents.  Three  times  before  the  place  was  too  strait 
for  us  ;  three  times  before  God  said  to  our  brethren, 
**  Enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent  .  .  .  lengthen  thy  cords, 
and  strengthen  thy  stakes."  We  are  doing  what  our 
fathers  did.  We  are  illustrating  their  spirit.  We  are 
doing  what  they  would  do  were  they  in  our  places  to-day. 
We  are  following  their  example  ;  their  mantle  has  fallen 
upon  us.  Thirty  years  ago,  with  sanctified  common 
sense,  they  seized  the  wider  opportunities  which  God 
gave  them  on  Twenty-third  Street.  To-day  we  seize  the 
wider  opportunity  which  God  gives  us  on  Fifty-seventh 


238 


CHRIST,   AND  HIM  CltUCIFIED. 


Street.  Did  we  not  do  this  wo  would  be  unworthy 
Bons  of  noble  and  now  sainted  sires.  May  our  sons 
bo  governed  by  an  equally  wise  and  sanctifiod  ambi- 
tion ! 

A  glance  at  our  history  will  justify  my  remarks.  This 
church  is  an  offshoot  from  the  old  Stanton  Street  church 
— the  mother  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  church,  Dr.  Armi- 
tage^s,  as  well  aso  f  ours.  For  some  reason  that  place  had 
become  too  strait  for  some  brethren  ;  just  why  1  do  not 
know.  Perhaps  it  is  as  well  not  to  inquire  too  carefully. 
God  was  even  then  saying  to  them,  *^  Enlarge  the  place 
of  thy  tent  .  .  .  lengthen  thy  cords,  and  strengthen  thy 
stakes."  The  church  had  a  feeble  beginning.  Few  of 
the  members  of  this  day  know  how  full  of  toil  and  trial 
that  early  history  is.  Various  reasons  led  Rev.  David 
Bellamy,  the  pastor  of  the  Stanton  Street  church,  to  go 
out  from  that  body.  On  Wednesday  eve  qj,  Novem- 
ber 25th,  1846,  a  number  of  members  of  th»,«  oaurch  met 
at  219  Wooster  Street  to  take  measures  for  organizing  a 
new  congregation.  The  night  was  stormy  ;  only  ten 
persons  were  present.  Nothing  was  done  except  to 
name  the  time  and  place  for  another  meeting.  The 
time  was  Friday,  November  27th,  1846,  the  place  was 
No.  3  Third  Street,  now  Grand.  The  number  present 
at  this  meeting  was  only  fourteen.  They  decided,  how- 
ever, to  consider  themselves  a  distinct  congregation,  and 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  secure  the  Coliseum,  No. 
450  Broadway,  as  a  place  6i  meeting.  It  was  also  de- 
cided to  invite  Rev.  David  Bellamy,  who  had  just  re- 
signed the  pastorate  of  the  Stanton  Street  church,  to 
preach  for  the  new  body  on  the  next  Sunday.  The 
Coliseum  was  secured  and  worship  was  held  there,  until 
lots  were  secured  on  Broadway,  opposite  the  New  York 
Hotel.     God  said,  **  Enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent.'? 


THE   PLACE  TOO  ST U  A  IT. 


'm 


The  people  did  so.  The  lots  were  bought  on  favorable 
terms  ;  the  owners  were  interested  in  the  enterprise)  and 
thus  wore  glad  to  dispose  of  it  in  this  way. 

On  Sunday  evening,  January  3d,  18-17,  an  invitation 
was  given  to  all  who  wished  to  form  an  independent 
Baptist  church  to  remain.  It  was  unanimously  and 
heartily  resolved  to  take  immediate  steps  to  form  such 
an  organization.  Among  the  leading  men  at  the  time 
were  W.  D.  Saulsbury,  B.  8.  Squires,  M.  G.  Lane, 
William  E.  Sibell,  D.  W.  Manwaring,  Henry  Estwick, 
William  Conklin,  Abraham  Fanning,  and  John  Fanning. 
On  Sunday  evening,  February  28tli,  1847,  this  church 
was  organized.  Rev.  Eh'sha  Tucker,  then  pastor  of  the 
Oliver  Street  church,  was  in  the  chair.  Rev.  David 
Bellamy,  acting  pastor,  presented  a  resolution  by  the 
adoption  <  1'  which  the  people  constituted  themselves  into 
an  indep3ndent  Baptist  church  by  the  name  of  the  Hope 
Chapel  Baptist  Church  of  the  city  of  New  York.  Thus 
this  church  was  organized,  thirty-six  years  ago  last  Feb- 
ruary. On  April  22d,  1847,  a  council  met  in  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  Broome  Street,  to  consider  the  propriety 
of  recognizing  the  body  as  a  regular  Baptist  church.  On 
motion  of  the  distinguished  Dr.  Cone  the  body  was  so 
recognized,  Dr.  Hodge,  Rev.  Mr.  Dickenson,  Rev. 
Elisha  Tucker,  and  Rev.  E.  G.  Somers  taking  part  in 
the  public  services  of  recognition  on  the  evening  of  the 
first  Sabbath  in  Maj^  1847,  in  the  Coliseum.  One  hun- 
dred and  seven  names  were  enrolled  as  constituent  mem- 
bers of  the  church.  Of  tliis  number  but  few  **  remain 
until  this  day." 

Soon  after  this  the  church  built  and  occupied  the 
house  on  Broadway,  known  as  the  Hope  Chapel,  on  the 
lots  bought  opposite  the  Kew  York  Hotel.  Thus  again 
God  said  :  **  Enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent."     In  the  year 


IBBi 


240 


CHRIST,    AND  HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


1852  the  name  was  changed  to  tlie  Broadway  Baptist 
Church.  In  the  year  1853  the  three  lots  on  Twenty- 
third  Street  where  we  meet  to-day  were  hought,  the  lots 
on  Broadway  having  been  sold.  Of  this  I  shall  speak  a 
little  later.  In  the  mean  timellev.  David  Bellamy,  who 
was  called  February  27th,  1847,  resigned  October  26th, 
1849.  The  second  pastor  was  Rev.  John  Dowling, 
D.D.  lie  wascalled  January  23d,  1850,  and  ho  resigned 
April  13th,  1852.  On  August  1st,  1852,  Rev.  A.  D. 
Gillette,  D.D.,  was  called.  "We  would  scarcely  think 
now  of  holding  a  meeting  on  August  Ist  to  call  a  pastor. 
In  those  days  the  more  modern  idea  of  closing  churches 
and  doing  no  religious  work  for  three  months  in  the  year 
had  not  suggested  itself.  We  have  made  great  progress 
since.  It  was  during  his  pastorate  that  the  lots  on  this 
street  were  bought.  It  was  difficult  then  to  induce  the 
people  to  vote  to  come  so  far  up-town.  All  recent 
events  justify  the  wisdom  of  Dr.  Gillette  and  the  breth- 
ren who  worked  with  him.  These  lots  were  bought  for 
a  little  less  than  $18,000.  We  have  just  sold  them  for 
$225,000.  It  is  matter  for  regret  that  our  brethren  did 
not  buy  a  few  more  lots,  although  they  found  it  suffi- 
ciently difficult  to  pay  for  those  they  did  buy.  On  the 
first  Sunday  in  January,  1854,  worship  was  had  in  the 
basement  of  this  house — twenty-nine  years  ago  last  Jan- 
nary.  On  the  first  Sunday  in  Ma/  of  the  same  year  the 
npper  part  of  the  house  was  occupied  for  the  first  time. 
In  September  of  the  same  year  the  name  was  changed 
to  the  Calvary  Baptist  Church.  This  was  a  time  of  high 
hopes  and  great  struggles.  Few  of  us  to-day  can  appre- 
ciate the  burden  which  a  few  brethren  carried  in  those 
days.  At  times  it  seemed  as  if  they  must  sink  under  the 
load.  From  their  own  means — which  were  not  large — 
they  gave  again  and  again  to  pay  church  debts.     Some- 


THE  PLACE  TOO  STRAIT. 


241 


times  they  had  to  raise  money  on  their  notes  to  meet 
interest  and  other  claims.  The  ladies  in  various  societies 
took  their  share.  Pastor  and  people  worked  heroically. 
They  were  enlarging  the  curtain  of  their  tent  and  length- 
ening their  cords  at  great  sacri^ces.  At  length  cur  ter- 
rible Civil  War  came.  Many  young  men  went  iuto  the 
army.  Prayer-meetings  were  broken  up  ;  there  was  not 
the  heartiest  sympathy  between  some  of  the  older  and 
some  of  the  younger  brethren.  By  heroic  efforts,  how- 
ever, the  current  expenses  were  paid  and  the  debt  was 
considerably  reduced.  On  December  22d,  1863,  Dr. 
Gillette  resigned.  His  pastorate  of  over  eleven  years 
was  the  crowning  work  of  his  useful  life.  Of  him  and 
of  his  work  I  wish  to  speak  more  particularly. 

Dr.  Gillette  was  the  third  pastor  in  order.  With  his 
coming  new  life  and  power  were  given  to  every  sphere 
of  church  work.  Soon  after  he  came  the  name  of  Calvary 
Baptist  Church  was  adopted.  Soon  the  congregations 
overflowed  Hope  Chapel.  The  **  up- town"  idea  was  then 
as  serious  a  matter  of  discussion  as  it  has  been  in  later 
days.  The  selection  of  the  present  site  of  the  church 
on  Twenty- third  Street  was  due  to  his  sagacity.  Often 
has  he  told  the  pastor  of  the  discussions  of  those  days, 
of  his  own  anxious  searching  for  lots,  of  his  choice  of 
these,  and  of  the  efforts  to  secure  them.  With  the  aid  of 
his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  George  W.  A.  Jenkins,  and  the 
co-operation  of  other  leaders  in  the  church,  the  lots  were 
secured  and  the  house  erected.  The  number  of  members 
was  comparatively  small,  their  means  were  quite  limited, 
their  burdens  heavy,  and  their  achievements  noble.  In  all 
these  protracted  struggles  his  patience,  his  tact,  his  prac- 
tical judgment  were  everywhere  felt,  guiding  and  in- 
spiring the  entire  work.  It  was  a  great  day  for  him  and 
the  people  when  the  new  house  on  Twenty-third  Street 


242 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


I! 


■!l! 


was  opened  for  worship.  New  families  soon  came  in  ; 
social  and  financial  strength  was  gained,  and  the  hopes  of 
years  gradually  matured  into  blessed  results.  Dr.  Gillette 
was  prominent  in  every  good  word  and  work.  To  this 
hour  his  work  is  appreciated  heartily,  his  influence  felt 
constantly,  and  his  memory  cherished  tenderly.  "We  loved 
during  all  his  life-time  to  think  and  speak  of  him  as  '^  our 
senior  pastor." 

The  clouds  of  battle  darkened  our  national  sky  during 
the  closing  years  of  Dr.  Gillette's  ministry  in  the  Calvary 
Church  ;  but  he  was  to  go  into  still  darker  clouds  at  the 
nation's  capital.  In  1864  he  became  the  pastor  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  in  "Washington,  D.  C.  During  the 
later  years  of  the  war,  and  the  years  immediately  suc- 
ceeding, Washington  was  the  centre  of  tremendous  ac- 
tivities and  seriously  conflicting  opinions.  Into  this  stormy 
sea  Dr.  Gillette  by  his  knowledge  and  sympathy  was 
necessarily  plunged.  "With  President  Lincoln,  Edwin  M. 
Stanton,  and  other  men  at  the  centres  of  power,  he  main- 
tained intimate  pergonal  relations.  His  counsels  were  often 
sought  in  the  critical  junctures  of  our  nation's  life. 
Following  the  tight  with  Early  at  Fort  Stevens,  when  he 
came  before  "Washington,  Dr.  Gillette  found  work  in 
going  from  hospital  to  hospital,  and  from  camp  to  camp 
among  the  wounded.  He  was  often  employed  as  chaplain 
of  the  Houses  of  Congress  and  of  the  Government  Hos- 
pital for  the  Insane.  Then  came  the  fearful  days  con- 
nected with  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln.  At 
the  urgent  request  of  President  Johnson  and  Secretary 
Stanton,  Dr.  Gillette  spent  most  of  the  time  during  the 
last  few  days  of  their  lives  with  the  conspirators  who  mur- 
dered President  Lincoln  ;  following  out  this  same  request 
he  officiated  as  chaplain  at  their  execution.  The  case  of 
Paine  especially  interested  him  ;  for  his  father's  sake  and 


THE  PLACE  TOO  STRAIT. 


243 


his  own  soul's  sake  the  good  doctor  gave  him  unremitting 
attention.  ^  • 

The  excitements  of  those  awful  days  told  upon  his 
health.  In  December,  1868,  he  broke  down  utterly 
before  the  close  of  a  morning  service.  By  the  advice 
of  his  physicians  he  went  abroad.  While  in  London  he 
enjoyed  the  intimate  friendship  of  Mr.  Spurgeon,  Hon. 
and  Rev.  Baptist  Noel,  and  other  distinguished  Baptists. 
Baptist  Noel  preceded  him  into  the  land  of  perpetual 
fellowship.  The  rest  and  change  brought  back  health 
and  vigor.  In  the  fall  of  1870  he  returned  to  America, 
and  almost  immediately  he  accepted  the  temporary  charge 
of  the  Gethseniane  Baptist  Church,  Brooklyn.  He  could 
not  be  idle  ;  his  whole  soul  was  in  the  work  of  preaching  ; 
and  in  1874  he  became  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at 
Sing  Sing.  With  all  the  enthusiasm  of  early  manhood  lie 
took  hold  of  the  work.  His  influence  was  felt  in  all  the 
interests  of  education  and  Christianity  in  the  village.  In 
1878  he  resigned.  He  then  became  stated  supply  of  the 
church  at  North  New  York,  a  young  church  just  across 
the  Harlem  River.  His  advancing  years  were  bright  and 
beautiful ;  he  was  walking  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  cross. 
Ho  was  growing  old  sweetly  and  happily.  He  loved  his 
work  ;  his  preaching  instructed  the  people,  and  they  in 
turn  co-operated  heartily  with  him. 

After  his  return  from  England  his  membership,  to- 
gether with  that  of  his  estimable  wife,  was  resumed  with 
the  Calvary  church.  Upon  going  to  Sing  Sing  it  was 
transferred  to  the  church  there.  On  their  return  to  the 
city  their  letters  were  brought  again  to  the  old  church. 
Never  shall  I  forget  the  long  and  sunny  visit  had  with 
the  doctor  at  that  time.  He  spoke  of  his  love  for  the 
old  church,  his  desire  that  he  might  have  a  home  here 
until  he  went  to  his  home  above,  and  that  when  that 


244 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


'1     i 


!      '! 


time  came  he  might  be  buried  from  the  spot  he  loved  so 
well.  All  happened  as  ho  hoped.  In  May,  1880,  the 
Baptist  national  societies  were  holding  their  anniver- 
saries in  Saratoga.  Here  he  was  stricken  with  apoplexy. 
All  that  filial  affection  and  medical  skill  could  do  for  him 
was  done  by  his  son.  Dr.  Walter  R.  Gillette,  of  this 
city.  At  Lake  George,  under  the  tender  ministrations 
of  his  beloved  wife,  partial  restoration  came.  The  dis- 
ease left  the  intellect  intact,  but  the  power  to  express 
ideas  in  appropriate  words  was  gone  never  to  return. 
The  attacks  returned  regularly  every  month.  He  was, 
however,  bright  and  cheerful ;  he  still  rejoiced  in  the 
sunshine  of  Christ's  love  ;  he  still  was  interested  in  all 
the  concernments  of  national  and  church  life.  But  it 
was  evident  to  near  friends  that  the  end  was  drawing 
near.  On  May  29th  last  a  long-cherished  wish  was  grat- 
ified ;  he  was  able  to  be  present  at  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  the  new  Calvary  church  on  Fifty-seventh 
Street.  On  August  24th,  1882,  he  calmly  fell  asleep  in 
his  summer  home  on  Lake  George.  The  end  was  peace  ; 
the  long  warfare  was  over  ;  the  endless  victory  begun  ; 
the  cross  was  laid  down,  and  the  soldier  of  Christ  was 
crowned  more  than  conqueror. 

"  Mortals  cried,  a  man  is  dead  ;     ' 
Angels  sang,  a  child  is  bom." 

As  a  pastor  he  was  devoted  to  his  duties.  His  great 
tact  and  attractive  social  qualities  made  him  a  welcome 
visitor  in  every  home.  At  the  bedside  of  the  sick  and 
in  the  house  of  mourning  he  was  gentle  in  manner,  wise 
in  counsel,  and  fervent  in  spirit.  This  was  a  marked 
element  of  his  power.  Dr.  Gillette's  heart  was  always 
young.  This  characteristic  gave  him  troops  of  friends 
among  young   and  old   outside  of  his  own  churches, 


THE  PLACE  TOO  STRAIT. 


245 


his  own  denomination,  and  the  social  circles  in  which  he 
ordinarily  moved.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  churches  do 
not  like  old  men.  But  churches  always  liked  him  ;  he 
was  always  full  of  the  enthusiasm  of  youth,  hope,  and 
love.  He  was  not  old.  To  young  ministers  especially 
was  he  a  cordial  friend.  There  is  no  jealousy  so  sad  as 
that  which  some  men,  who  are  growing  old,  show  toward 
the  younger  brethren  who  are  coming  on  the  stage  oi 
action.  This  feeling  has  embittered  the  lives  of  many 
otherwise  noble  men.  It  has  been  "  the  last  infirmity 
of  noble  minds."  Dr.  Gillette  was  too  large-hearted  for 
this  miserable  feeling.  For  twelve  years  my  relations 
with  him  had  been  most  intimate.  Together  we  have 
stood  by  the  dying  and  the  dead  and  labored  in  many 
other  ways.  He  always  and  everywhere  has  been  the  true 
friend,  the  genuine  brother,  and  the  perfect  Christian  gen- 
tleman. Stately  in  figure,  refined  in  face,  and  courtly  in 
manner,  he  was  a  man  to  be  observed  among  a  thousand. 
His  strictly  clerical  garb  was  eminently  adapted  to  the 
whole  style  of  the  man.  His  life,  in  every  circle  in 
which  he  moved,  was  a  constant  benediction,  a  testimony 
to  the  grace  of  God,  and  a  model  to  the  younger  men  in 
the  ministry. 

His  wish  to  be  buried  from  the  old  church  was,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  gratified.  Dying  at  Lake  George, 
Thursday,  August  24:th,  he  was  buried  from  this  church 
on  Monday,  August  28th.  Drs.  Samson,  Burlingham, 
and  Armitage,  and  Rev.  Walter  Scott  made  appropriate 
addresses ;  and  Drs.  Everts  and  Deems  offered  the 
prayers,  and  the  pastor  presided  and  read  the  lessons.  On 
Sunday  morning,  September  3d,  the  pastor  preached  a 
memorial  discourse  in  the  presence  of  a  large  and  sympa- 
thetic audience.  It  is  fitting  that  these  facts  be  rehearsed 
at  this  last  Sunday  morning  service  in  the  house  which 


y^l 


.i     I 


24C 


CHRIST,    AND  HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


he  80  largely  helped  to  erect,  and  in  the  presence  of  so 
many  whom  he  was  instrumental  in  bringing  into  the 
kingdom  of  God.  No  words  more  appropriately  express 
our  tender  memories  of  him  and  many  others  who  once 
filled  these  pews  than  these  from  Bean  Alford  : 

"  Oh,  then,  what  raptured  greetings 

On  Canaan's  happy  shore  ! 
What  knitting  severed  friendships  up, 

Where  partings  are  no  more  I 
Then  eyes  with  joy  shall  sparkle, 

That  brimmed  with  tears  of  late. 
Orphans  no  longer  fatherless, 

Nor  widows  desolate." 

Rev.  R.  J.  W.  Buckland,  D.D.,  was  the  fourth  pas- 
tor. He  was  called  November  1st,  1864.  He  resigned 
September  24:th,  1869,  to  become  a  professor  in  the  The- 
ological Seminary  at  Rochester.  There  he  died.  Ho  was  a 
man  of  varied  learning  and  of  noble  character.  During  his 
pastorate  the  entire  debt  was  paid.  Tiiis  grand  result  was 
accomplished  by  the  wisdom  and  liberality  of  the  late  Dr. 
Nathan  Bishop.  He  saw  clearly  that  soon  a  pressure  in 
the  money  market  would  come  and  if  the  debt  were  not 
now  paid  it  might  remain  for  years.  Dr.  Bishop  be- 
lieved also  that  the  only  way  to  pay  a  debt  is  to  pay  it. 
All  helped  according  to  their  means,  but  his  wisdom  car- 
ried the  effort  through  to  success.  But  for  this  the  pres- 
ent pastorate  probably  would  not  have  been  attempted. 
The  present  pastor  was  called  February  25th,  1870,  while 
yet  a  student  in  the  Rochester  Theological  Seminary. 
He  entered  upon  his  work  May  15th,  1870,  having  been 
graduated  from  the  seminary  three  days  before.  Thus 
our  present  removal  is  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the 
church  as  seen  during  these  years.  It  is  needless  to  speak 
of  this  pastorate  ;  we  are  not  here  to-day  to  give  the  his- 
tory of  these  years,  but  these  two  facts  ought  to  be  given  : 


THE  PLACE  TOO  STRAIT. 


247 


during  these  thirteen  years  the  membership  has  gone  up 
from  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  to  over  eleven  hun- 
dred and  about  three-quarters  of  a  million  of  dollars  have 
been  given  to  denominational  and  other  forms  of  Chris- 

I  tian  benevolence. 

Let  me  say,  in  the  second  place,  that  the  dominant 
spirit  of  the  church  to-day  is  in  harmony  with  these 
Scriptures.  What  is  that  dominant  spirit  ?  How  may 
it  be  characterized  ?    It  has  several  elements. 

It  is  a  spirit  of  harmony — of  unity.  We  do  not  go  out 
of  this  house  a  divided  body.  A  divided  body  seldom 
finds  even  a  very  strait  place  too  strait  for  it.  A  divided 
church  seldom  hears  God's  providence  saying,  "  Enlarge 
the  place  of  thy  tent."  So  far  from  being  an  aggressive 
body,  a  disunited  church  is  a  house  divided  against  itself, 
and  Christ  tells  us  that  such  a  house  cannot  stand.  This 
church  never  has  had  a  church  quarrel ;  and  that  is  some- 

'  thing  which  we  will  not  have.  We  do  not  go  out  of  this 
house  on  a  bare  majority  vote.  There  was  only  one  vote 
in  the  negative  when  the  final  vote  was  taken,  and  the 
brother  who  cast  it  is  now  one  of  the  warmest  friends  of 
the  new  enterprise.  1  would  be  a  sad  man  to-day  if 
there  was  even  a  small  minority  opposed  to  this  move- 
ment. We  go  out  a  unit.  We  seek  no  personal  honor, 
nor  denominational  glory.      We  go  out  to  glorify  God 

.  and  to  be  of  greater  help  to  men.  It  is  not  given  to  any 
company  of  men  and  women  with  independence  in 
thought  and  action  to  be  more  of  a  unit  in  any  matter 
than  we  are  in  this.  This  church  is  a  remarkable  body 
in  this  respect.  In  all  our  deliberations  no  unkind  word 
w^as  ever  spoken  ;  the  very  peace  of  God  has  been  granted 
na.  The  angel  of  peace  has  hovered  over  us.  Christ's 
last  legacy  we  have  rejoiced  in  as  our  inheritance.  , 

The  spirit  of  this  church  is  also  evangelical.     We 


J  i' 


S       I 


i  j 


n  ■       ! 

tH   i  ' 


248 


CHRIST,    AND   IITM   CRUCIFIED. 


have  no  new  Gospel  to  preach  ;  no  other  way  of  salvation 
to  propose.  The  motto  on  our  new  house  of  worship 
is  :  *  *  "We  preach  Christ  crucified. "  For  thirteen  years 
I  have  known  nothing  among  you  save  Jesus  Christ,  and 
Ilim  crucified.  By  this  sign  we  have  won  some  vic- 
tories. This  old  Gospel  is  triumphing  over  all  modern 
errors.  I  have  heen  fortunate,  as  I  have  intimated,  in 
my  predecessors.  Rev.  David  Bellamy  was  an  earnest 
and  able  preacher.  Dr.  Dowling  secured  a  wider  fame 
both  as  a  preacher  and  a  writer.  Dr.  Gillette  possessed 
the  gentleness  of  John  and  something  of  the  power 
which  made  that  apostle  one  of  the  sons  of  thunder. 
Dr.  Buckland  was  a  kindly  man  and  a  ripe  scholar. 
He  died  all  too  soon  for  the  cause  of  sacred  learning. 
They  have  all  gone  to  their  reward.  They  were  all 
loyal  to  Christ  and  His  truth,  and  their  work  abides. 
May  the  day  never  come  when  this  pulpit  shall  be  dis- 
loyal to  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God.  Away 
with  the  nostrums  of  the  devil !  The  weary  and  the 
lost  need  Jesus  Christ.  This  spirit  makes  us  stretch  out 
our  tent ;  this  leads  us  to  strengthen  our  stakes  and 
lengthen  our  cords.  The  pastorates  of  all  these  excel- 
lent men,  except  that  of  Dr.  Gillette,  were  too  short  to 
make  much  impression.  Great  changes  also  have  come 
to  our  city.  It  is  growing  with  wonderful  rapidity. 
Men  and  women  from  all  parts  of  the  country  are  com- 
ing to  New  York.  This  city  is  a  mighty  reservoir.  The 
church  has  shared  in  this  growth.  It  is  practically  a 
new  church  to-day  ;  but  it  preserves  tlie  old  faith  which 
my  predecessors  preached  a  ad  in  which  they  triumphed 
over  death. 

Furthermore,  this  church  is  a  missionary  body  ;  it 
believes  in  aggressive  work  for  Christ.  Past  victories 
will  not  sufiice.     Grander  triumphs  must  be  achieved. 


THE  PLACE  TOO  STRAIT. 


249 


We  leave  here  for  a  larger  field  and  a  grander  work.  If 
we  left  to  enter  upon  a  more  contracted  sphere  this 
would  be  a  sad  day  for  us  all.  That  would  be  a  crime 
against  light  and  against  the  Lord.  That  would  be  a  sin 
against  the  memory  of  our  sainted  dead  ;  that  would  bo 
to  trail  the  flag  in  the  dust.  Perish  the  thought  I  Sir 
Charles  Napier  says  :  **  A  Christianity  which  is  not  ag- 
gressive is  not  Christianity. "  A  church  which  is  satisfied 
simply  to  strengthen  what  remains  will  soon  be  nothing 
but  "  remains."  Often  the  best  way  to  strengthen  the 
things  which  remain  is  to  attack  the  things  which  resist. 
I  have  said  before  that  an  anti- mission  church  is  an  anti- 
Christian  church.  For  such  a  ci)urch  God  has  no  use, 
the  devil  no  dread,  and  the  world  no  respect.  Such 
churches  must  die,  and  the  sooner  the  better.  But  an 
honest  minister  standing  beside  the  corpse  could  not  say, 
**  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord."  Forward, 
oh  church  of  God  I  Grasp  the  golden  opportunities  ! 
Enter  the  opening  door  I  God's  own  hand  opens  it. 
May  He  give  us  grace  to  see  and  to  do  our  new  duties 
and  enjoy  our  great  opportunities  I  ^ 

Now,  in  the  third  place,  God's  providence  to-day  says 
plainly  to  us,  '*  The  place  is  too  strait  for  me  :"  and  that 
same  Providence  plainly  adds,  **  Enlarge  the  place  of  thy 
tent."  It  is  certain  that  the  place  is  too  strait.  Our  Sun- 
day-school has  overflowed  inttv  the  main  audience-room. 
Often  the  prayer-meetings  crowd  us.  Too  long  have  wo 
met  in  a  room  below  the  level  of  the  sidewalk  ;  too  long 
have  we  breathed  a  poisonous  atmosphere  in  this  low, 
damp  basement.  Business  has  pressed  upon  us.  Our 
property  has  become  too  valuable  for  the  facilities  which 
it  affords.  These  facts  are  God's  way  of  indicating  His 
will. 

Plainly,  too,  Providence  indicated  the  new  location. 


i     r 


i 


t 


260 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


Other  doors  were  eliut.  God  said,  Go  to  Fifty  seventh 
Street,  "  Behold,  I  set  before  you  an  open  door."  My 
text  tells  us  to  enlarge  the  place  of  our  tent ;  it  says, 
spare  not  /  be  not  parsimonious ;  make  the  necessary 
expenditure  ;  welcome  the  new  opportunity  ;  grasp  the 
grand  chance  to  do  great  things  for  God  and  man.  If 
ever  a  people  were  divinely  led  we  have  been  in  this 
matter.  As  truly  as  the  pillar  of  cloud* went  before  the 
children  of  Israel  by  day  and  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night, 
so  truly  has  God  gone  before  us  in  this  matter.  With- 
out His  presence  all  is  vain.  Our  language  is  that  of 
Moses,  **  If  Thy  presence  go  not  with  us,  carry  us  not 
up  hence.''  God's  answer  is,  **  For  the  Lord  will  go  be- 
fore you,  and  the  God  of  Israel  will  be  your  rereward." 
Our  place  of  work  changes,  but  the  church  remains. 
The  true  church  of  God  abides.  If  we  have  to  cross  the 
Red  Sea  God  can  pile  up  its  waters  in  crystal  walls  on 
either  side  while  we  march  through  dry  shod.  Difficul- 
ties await  us  ;  but  God  will  never  leave  nor  forsake  us. 
Forward,  oh  church  of  God  !  "  Let  us  go  up  and  poeeess 
the  land,"  for  with  God  on  our  side,  we  can  say,  "  We 
are  able." 


XX. 


n 


REASONS  FOR  PUBLIC  WORSHIP.* 

"  We  will  not  forsake  the  house  of  our  God."— Neh.  10  :  39. 

These  are  the  words  of  that  manly  man  and  princely 
patriot  Nehemiah,  and  those  who  were  associated  with 
him.  Four  hundred  and  forty-five  years  b.c.  we  find 
Kehemiah  in  the  royal  palace  at  Shushan,  the  winter 
residence  of  the  Persian  king,  occupying  the  important 
office  of  cup-bearer  to  Artaxerxes  the  king.  Certain 
Jews  who  came  from  Jerusalem  gave  him  an  account  of 
the  mournful  and  desolate  condition  of  the  returned 
colony  in  Judea.  He  was  deeply  moved.  His  sad  coun- 
tenance revealed  to  the  king  his  sorrow  of  heart.  After 
three  or  four  months  of  devout  prayer  and  earnest  pur- 
pose, he  was  appointed  governor  of  Judea,  furnished 
with  a  troop  of  cavalry  and  granted  permission  to  repair 
thither.  The  king  gave  him  full  power  to  rebuild  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem  and  **  to  seek  the  welfare  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel."  He  also  received  letters  of  safe  escort 
to  the  governors  beyond  the  Euphrates  ;  and  orders  were 
given  him  on  the  keeper  of  the  royal  forests  for  the  tim- 
ber he  might  need.  On  his  arrival  he  found  the  city 
almost  deserted,  and  the  temple  in  a  state  of  decay. 
Ruin  and  desolation  met  him  on  every  hand.  He  began 
at  once  a  work  of  great  importance — the  rebuilding  of 
the  walls  which  had  been  destroyed  by  Nebuzaradan. 

*  Sermon  preached  at  the  opening  of  the  Gaivary  Ghurch  Ghapel, 
New  York,  Sunday  morning.  July  8th,  1883,  by  the  pastor. 


25-2 


riTIlIST,    AXD   II IM   CRUCIFIED. 


j^ 


By  word  and  deed  ho  stirred  up  the  people  ;  and  not- 
withstanding the  insidious  and  venomous  opposition 
which  was  made  from  the  first  by  Sanballat  and  Tobiah, 
who  plotted  against  him  and  misrepresented  liim  both  to 
the  people  of  Jerusalem  and  to  the  king  of  Persia,  in  an 
incredibly  short  space  of  time — "  in  iifty-and-two  days" 
— the  walls  rose  from  the  heaps  of  rubbish  which  had 
covered  them,  to  the  sublime  proportions  and  great 
grandeur  which  had  cliaracterized  them  in  the  olden 
time.  The  wall  was  thus  built  in  **  troublous  times." 
After  many  interruptions  and  some  delay  its  completion 
was  joyously  celebrated  by  a  day  of  solemn  dedication. 
A  census  of  the  returned  captives  was  taken,  the  law  was 
publicly  read,  the  feast  of  tabernacles  was  again  ob- 
served ;  the  day  of  atonement  was  solemnly  kept,  when 
the  people  covenanted  to  observe  the  law  of  Moses,  the 
sanctity  of  the  Sabbath,  and  to  keep  themselves  separate 
from  surrounding  heathen  nations,  and  amid  the  solem- 
nities of  the  hour,  they  with  one  voice  and  with  the  con- 
sent of  all  hearts,  sublimely  said  in  the  words  of  my  text, 
**  And  we  will  not  forsake  the  house  of  our  God." 

Nehemiah  and  those  with  him  acted  wisely  in  thus 
pledging  themsti/es,  amid  the  cares  of  State  and  the 
business  of  the  people,  to  remember  the  house  of  God. 
He  was  a  man  of  the  loftiest  patriotism  and  the  truest 
integrity.  In  the  performance  of  duty  he  knew  neither 
friend  nor  foe.  The  perils  of  his  country  and  the  sor- 
rows of  his  countrymen  drew  him  from  his  post  of  wealth 
and  influence  in  the  first  court  of  the  world.  In  his 
twelve  years'  governorship  of  Jerusalem  he  risked  his 
life  to  help  his  country  and  to  honor  his  God.  His  life 
is  too  little  known  even  by  intelligent  Christians,  and 
consequently  his  worth  is  too  little  appreciated.  In 
everything  he  sought  God's  honor  and  blessing  ;  but  in 


REASONS  FOR  PUBLIC   WORSHIP. 


253 


,»> 


nothing  does  his  wisdom  as  a  patriot,  a  statesman,  and  a 
man  of  God  shine  out  more  grandly  than  when  ho  and 
his  people  exclaim  :  **  We  will  not  forsake  the  house  of 
our  God. "  I  wish  you  would  adopt  that  resolution  as 
your  own  this  morning.  It  should  be  a  sutiicient  reason 
for  us  all  to  adopt  and  forever  keep  this  resolution,  that 
God  has  in  many  ways,  both  in  the  Old  and  in  the  New 
Testament,  commanded  us  in  the  words  on  the  wall  before 
you,  to  keep  His  Sabbaths  and  reverence  Ills  sanctuary  ; 
but  this  reason  is  not  sufficient  with  all  men.  There  are 
other  reasons  and  advantages,  therefore,  which  should 
induce  us  to  say,  **  We  will  not  forsake  the  house  of  our 
God." 


THE  SOCIAL  ADVANTAGES. 

1.  The  social  advantages  incident  to  association  with 
Christian  people. 

Do  not  suppose  that  this  reason  is  unworthy  of  men- 
tion here.  So  far  from  being  unworthy  of  our  thought 
and  notice,  we  are  assured  that  this  consideration  de- 
serves more  weight  than  religious  teachers  are  in  the 
habit  of  giving  it.  Let  any  man  glance  over  his  history, 
and  take  an  inventory  of  the  forces  which  have  shaped 
his  life,  and  he  will  acknowledge  that  his  social  relations 
have  contributed  largely  to  make  him  what  he  is,  whether 
he  be  right  or  wrong.  We  have  no  sympathy  whatever 
with  that  snobbery  which  is  always  seeking  a  prominent 
place  in  **  society,"  as  it  is  called.  The  desire  to  appear 
richer,  more  fashionable,  wiser  or  better  than  we  really 
are,  is  a  most  unpardonable  species  of  false  pretences. 
Were  persons  to  spend  in  honest,  earnest  efforts  to  make 
themselves  worthy  of  promotion,  the  energy  spent  in 
tricks  to  secure  the  desired  prominence,  they  would  secure 
it,  and  win  the  respect  of  all  men  besides.     We  have  seen 


p.  'i( 


(. 


I 


254 


CHRIST,    AND   IIIM   CUUCIFIED. 


iii; 


•■It 


111; 


itii' 


11! 


1'! 
ill 

ili 
1 1 


iii 


H! 


too  much  of  this  false  seeking  for  an  entrance  into  fash- 
ionable society.  Many  ambitious  fathers  and  mothers 
coming  into  a  large  city,  and  anxious  for  social  positions 
for  themselves  and  their  sons  and  daughters,  too  often 
resort  to  me^ns  which  compromise  their  self-respect  and 
their  religious  principles.  We  have  known  such  to  turn 
their  backs  upon  the  church  of  their  fathers — the  church 
to  'viilch  they  are  indebted  for  whatever  they  have  for 
time  and  eternity,  the  church,  moreover,  of  their  relig- 
ious convictions— and  join  themselves  to  a  church  which 
they  supposed  possessed  a  monopoly  of  social  advantages 
and  eligible  opportunities  for  their  sons  and  daughters. 
For  such  persons — and  there  are  such  Baptists  floating 
about  all  cities — we  have  nothing  bnt  mingled  pity  and 
scorn.  They,  like  all  persons  in  God's  world,  will  get, 
in  the  course  of  time,  all  that  they  are  worth,  and  it  is 
but  little. 

"When  we  name  as  a  reason  for  attendance  on  the  ser- 
vices of  God's  house  the  social  advantages  incident  to 
such  attendance,  we  have  no  such  practice  in  mind. 
There  is,  however,  a  proper  ambition  in  regard  to  our 
social  relations,  l^o  man  can  afford  to  despise  the  ad- 
vantages of  these  relations.  A  wise  man  will  not  attempt 
to  despise  them,  but  he  will  put  himself  in  line  with 
them,  and  reap  the  profit  they  offer.  We  regard  these 
remarks  as  a  fair  statement  of  the  truth.  We  are  now 
prepared  for  this  further  statement :  The  very  best 
society — not  the  hollow-hearted,  fashionable  society — but 
the  very  best  in  the  very  best  sense  of  that  word,  the 
society  that  has  the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  as 
well  as  that  which  is  to  come,  is  Christian  society  ;  and 
it  is  always  represented  among  church-going  people.  I 
do  not  say  that  all  who  attend  the  house  of  God  are  of 
this  high  order  ;  but  I  do  say,  that  nearly  all  who  are  of 


REASONS   FOR   PUBLIC   WORSHIP. 


255 


I 

of 
of 


this  high  order  attend  the  house  of  God.  Here  are 
found  the  kings  and  priests  of  God  ;  here  the  heirs  of 
immortal  Mfe  and  glory.  Here  the  best  minds  and  hearts 
in  all  periods  of  the  world  s  history  have  brought  their 
treasures  and  laid  them  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  ;  here  culti- 
vated intellects  and  purified  hearts  may  always  be  found, 
blessing  the  world,  adorning  the  Church  and  honoring 
Christ.  Is  it  not  worth  much  to  any  man,  to  a  young 
man  especially,  starting  in  life,  to  have  entrance  to  the 
homes  and  hearts  of  such  people  ?  Is  it  not  v/ur';h  much 
to  name  among  your  friends  one  who  is  -lie  Jriend  of 
God  ?  Is  it  not  worth  much  to  write  among  tiie  names 
of  your  choicest  friends  one  whose  name  is  written  in  the 
Lamb's  book  of  life  ?  Yes,  let  Christ's  friends  be  my 
friends. 

Directly  and  indirectly  all  a  man's  interests  will  be  ad- 
vanced by  his  association  with  Christian  people  in  the 
services  of  the  sanctuary.  It  is  a  fundamental  law  of 
association  that  we  become  assimilated  in  character  to 
those  with  whom  wo  associate.  And  Christian  character 
is  the  best  the  world  can  produce  ;  such  character  is 
always  sure  eventually  to  win  success  in  the  race  of  life. 
Let  a  young  man  just  commencing  life  in  this  great  city 
cultivate,  by  his  attendance  at  church  and  his  acquaint- 
ance with  Christian  people,  habits  of  sobriety,  honesty, 
devotion  to  duty,  and  unswerving  integrity,  and  he  will 
find  situations  open  for  him,  and  high  salaries  offered 
him,  while  the  reckless,  dissipated  young  man,  who 
spends  his  Sundays  in  open  wickedness  on  the  street,  or 
in  lazy  indifference  in  his  boarding-house,  may  be  left  in 
want,  or  be  found  begging  a  place  to  earn  his  bread. 
Illustrations  of  these  facts  are  with  me  almost  daily 
occurrences. 

The  direct  effect,  then,  of  the  course  I  have  indicated 


25G 


CHRIST,    AND  HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


is,  by  developing  a  worthy  character,  to  advance  even  a 
man's  worldly  and  financial  concerns.  The  same  is  true 
indirectly.  The  acquaintances  a  man  makes  and  the 
friendships  he  forms,  by  such  relations  often  open  the 
way,  by  their  influence  over  him  and  others,  to  promi- 
nence and  wealth.  A  kind  word  spoken  or  letter  writ- 
ten by  an  influential  man  in  favor  of  a  young  man  has 
often  been  the  first  round  in  the  ladder  of  success.  Shall 
a  man,  then,  join  a  church  because  of  the  social,  finan- 
cial, and  professional  advantages  of  such  a  connection  ? 
There  is  but  one  answer  to  such  a  question — that  answer 
a  most  emphatic  No  !  Such  a  man  would  be  a  knave. 
Better,  however,  that  a  man  should  attend  a  church  from 
such  low  motives  than  not  attend  at  all.  Better  that  he 
should  bring  his  heart  under  the  influence  of  truth,  even 
though  that  heart  were  shielded  in  selfishness.  The 
arrows  of  the  Almighty  might  pierce  through  this  cover- 
ing, and  the  man  be  brought  to  the  feet  of  Christ  a  lost 
sinner  seeking  forgiveness.  God  be  thanked  that  all 
that  is  needed  to  fit  a  man  for  an  honest,  noble  career  in 
this  life,  as  well  as  in  the  life  to  come,  is  not  contrary 
to  church-going  and  religion,  but  is  directly  fostered  by 
both  !  Godliness  is  profitable  in  all  things,  having  the 
j)romise  of  both  worlds  ;  and  men,  if  they  had  no  higher 
motive,  should  for  the  sake  of  their  worldly  and  social 
interests  be  regular  attendants  at  a  stated  place  of  wor- 
ship, contributors  to  the  support  of  the  Church  and  Gos- 
pel, and  should  say,  ''  We  will  not  forsake  the  house  of 
our  God.'' 

THE  INTELLECTUAL  ADVANTAGES. 

2.  We  name,  as  a  second  reason,  the  intellectual  ad- 
vantages of  attendance  on  the  services  of  God's  house. 
No  one  who  is  ignorant  of  the  Bible  can,  with  justice, 


REASONS  FOR   PUBLIC   WORSHIP. 


257 


all 
in 


ad- 


ice, 


claim  the  honors  of  a  liberal  education.  The  facts  of 
history,  the  study  of  jurisprudence,  the  science  of  medi- 
cine, as  well  as  the  great  truths  of  theology,  are  so  con- 
nected with  the  Bible  that  no  man  who  is  ignorant  of  it 
can  be  fully  versed  in  them.  The  historian  who  is  igno- 
rant of  the  Word  of  God  has  shut  himself  out  from  the 
most  fruitful  source  of  historical  knowledge.  No  lawyer 
can  afford  to  be  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  Moses  ;  they  are 
the  foundation  of  all  law.  It  is  extremely  doubtful 
whether  medical  science  has  reached  in  our  day,  in  sev- 
eral important  respects,  the  high-water  mark  of  tho 
Mosaic  Code.  A  young  physician  of  this  city,  a  mem- 
ber of  this  church,  is  soon  to  read  at  the  Baptist  Au- 
tumnal Conference  in  Boston,  a  paper  on  the  **  Sanitary 
Provisions  of  the  Mosaic  Code."  It  will  be  an  interest- 
ing paper  on  an  important  subject.  Every  intelligent 
physician  must  be  master  of  this  code.  From  it  he  will 
learn  what  human  text-books  cannot  teach  him. 

We  know  that  some  people  pride  themselves  in  being 
ignorant  of  the  Bible,  but  such  people  only  advertise 
their  intellectual  and  moral  weakness.  Kow  the  Bible, 
in  what  is  called  **  Gospel  sermons,"  is  the  great  text- 
book, and  its  exposition  and  enforcement  are,  in  large 
part,  the  duty  of  the  pulpit.  Attendance,  then,  on  tho 
ho'ise  of  God  is  to  be  a  means  of  learning  God's  will,  as 
laid  down  in  God's  Word,  for  the  quickening  of  the 
mind,  as  well  as  the  purifying  of  the  heart.  We  know 
that  with  some  persons  it  is  common  to  disparage  the 
intellectual  attainments  of  ministers.  We  know  that  it 
has  been  often  said  that  men  of  the  highest  culture  do 
not  attend  our  churches.  Ministers  have  sometimes  been 
called  *'  marrying  and  christening  machines,"  and  in 
churches  where  a  prescribed  formula  forbids  an  indepen- 
dent exercise   of  mental  power,   and   where  mistaken 


Hi 


il 


I 


•'.I 


III 


Km 


i 


258 


CHRIST;    AND  HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


notions  of  a  minister's  duty  transform  him  into  a  pricst 
rather  than  a  teacher — into  a  performer  of  rituah'stic 
duties  and  traditions  of  men  rather  than  an  interpreter 
of  God's  Word — there  is  some  ground  for  the  charge. 
*'  As  dull  as  a  sermon"  has  passed  into  a  proverb.  But, 
judged  simply  from  the  number  of  persons  who  hear 
them,  sermons  are  not  dull.  They  are  the  most  popular 
form  of  entertainment — ^if  one  may  use  that  term.  No 
man  on  any  subject  but  religion  could  draw  and  hold 
the  audiences  which  any  representative  minister  in 
this  city  has  every  Sunday.  The  Bible  is  a  popular 
book. 

In  the  North  American  Review  for  July  there  is  a 
"  Symposium  "  on  church  attendance.  The  discussion 
is  opened  by  one  who  calls  himself  a  "  Non-church- 
goer." He  is  generally  supposed  to  be  Mr.  James  Par- 
ton.  He  claims  that  only  a  small  proportion  of  intelli- 
gent and  respectable  people  attend  the  services  of  the 
churches  ;  that  such  attendance  cramps  the  brains  of  those 
who  go  ;  that  only  intellectual  ''  light-weights"  enter 
the  ministry.  Three  men  of  dififerent  schools  of  thought 
give  their  views  on  this  first  paper.  The  editor  of  the 
New  York  Independeiit  has  given  the  most  satisfactory 
reply.  He  most  conclusively  shows  how  false  are  the 
statements  that  intelligent  and  moral  people  do  not  at- 
tend the  churches.  He  proves  from  the  census  reports 
and  year  books  of  different  denominations  that  "  there 
were  in  1800,  according  to  the  best  a'/ailable  statistics, 
350,000  Evangelical  communicants  in  the  country,  being 
seven  per  cent  of  the  population  of  5,308,483.  In  1850 
there  were  3,529,988  such  communicants,  being  fifteen 
per  cent  of  the  population  of  21,191,876.  In  1870  there 
were  6,673,396  such  communicants,  being  seventeen  per 
cent  of  the  population  of  38,588,371.     In  1880  the  com- 


IIEASOXS   roil   PUBLIC    WOUSUIP. 


259 


lere 

tics, 

jing 

.850 

teen 

lere 

per 

)in- 


municants  had  risen  to  10,065,963,  being  a  little  over 
twenty  per  cent  of  the  population  of  50,152,866." 

He  also  shows  that  the  increase  in  population  since 
1800  has  been  ninefold  ;  that  in  Evangelical  communi- 
cants has  been  twenty-sevenfold,  three  times  as  great  as 
the  population.  But  we  have  as  attendants  on  the  ser- 
vices in  our  churches  not  only  communicants,  but  many 
wlio  are  connected  with  them  by  family  or  social  tics. 
He  therefore  estimates  that  thirty-six  of  the  fifty  mill- 
ions of  our  population  are  recognized  as  regular  attend- 
ants. He  rightly  admits  that  *'  there  are  men  of  French 
or  Spanish  birth  who  have  learned  to  despise  Romanism, 
and  who  in  throwing  it  off  have  thrown  off  all  faith. 
There  are  Germans  by  birth  who  have  succumbed  to  a 
local  tide  of  unbelief.  There  are  Jews  to  whom  Judaism 
seems  a  decayed  religion,  and  who  have  accepted  no 
other."  "We  all  know  that  the  worst  classes  do  not 
attend  the  church.  Keepers  and  patrons  of  saloons  do 
not.  The  reckless  Sunday  excursionists,  who  this  very 
day  are  doing  all  they  can  to  bring  this  city  into  dis- 
repute, do  not.  Supporters  of  places  too  vile  to  be 
named  do  not.  Those  who  neglect  the  house  of  God 
are  in  bad  fellowship.  I  do  not  say  that  all  who  neglect 
public  worship  are  of  this  low  order  ;  but  1  do  say  that 
nearly  all  who  are  of  this  low  order  neglect  the  house  of 
God.  So  to  do  is  to  have  fellowship  with  the  w^orst 
classes  in  the  community,  fellowship  with  the  devil  and 
his  angels.  But  these  are  only  a  small  fraction  of  the 
great  whole  who  in  increasing  proportions  attend  our 
places  of  worship.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  nearly  four- 
fifths  of  our  population  attend  religious  worship.  The 
reply  to  the  question,  *'  Why  do  not  the  people  attend 
the  churches  ?"  is,  "  The  people  do  attend  the  churches." 
To  deny  this  is  to  display  unpardonable  ignorance. 


360 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


S  ^  ^  •    i\ 


Of  course,  we  do  not  claim  the  same  prominence  for 
the  clergy  now  over  all  other  classes  of  men,  as  was  given 
them  some  centuries  ago,  when  clergymen  were  the  only 
educated  men  in  the  community — when  the  names 
scholar,  clergy,  and  clerk  were  synonymous  terms — as 
my  honored  and  beloved  college  president,  Dr.  M.  B. 
Anderson,  whose  presence  here  this  morning  is  so  pleasing 
to  us  all,  used  often  to  remind  his  students.  Indeed, 
clerk  is  still  the  old  English  law-term  for  a  preacher. 
But  we  do  claim  that  a  given  number  of  clergymen, 
compared  with  an  equal  number  of  men  in  any  other 
profession,  in  natural  ability,  specific  attainments  and 
general  literary  culture,  will  prove  themselves  at  least 
their  equals,  and  possibly  their  superiors.  We  are  as- 
sured that  attendance  on  God's  house  is  calculated  to 
stimulate  a  man's  mental  powers,  by  bringing  him  into 
contact  with  the  great  thoughts  of  the  Almighty.  A 
good  sermon  stirs  all  the  hidden  energies  of  the  soul,  by 
enforcing  the  claims  of  God  and  by  revealing  the  great 
realities  of  eternity.  The  intellect,  as  well  as  the  heart, 
was  ma.de  for  God  ;  and  whether  in  arguments  for  or 
objections  against  God's  claims,  all  our  mental  powers 
are  quickened.  The  Bible  is  the  source  whence  poets, 
musicians,  and  painters  have  drawn  their  subjects  and 
their  inspiration. 

The  Bible  gave  all  these  men — working  in  differ- 
ent departments  of  genius — their  inspiration.  Shall 
we  be  so  inconsistent  as  to  rejoice  in  the  streams  while 
we  despise  the  fountain  whence  they  flowed  ?  No  liter- 
ature has  in  it  the  elements  of  immortality  except  that 
which  draws  its  inspiration  from  God's  Word.  This 
gave  Tasso  his  strength  in  song  and  Michael  Angelo  his 
glory  in  art.  The  music  of  this  world  dies  with  the 
breath  which  gives  it  utterance.     Only  as  literature. 


REASONS   FOH   I'l'IlIJC    WOUSIflP. 


201 


music,  poetry,  sculpture  and  painting  are  linked  with  Him 
whose  name  is  above  every  name,  can  they  possess  some- 
thing  of  the  enduringness  of  Him  who  is  the  King  Im- 
mortal. They  must  at  least  embody  the  best  religious 
thought  of  their  time.  This  is  true  both  of  the  Greek 
poems  and  plays. 

The  office  which  has  been  honored  by  the  gifts  of 
Paul  and  the  graces  of  John,  by  the  immortal  names  of 
heroes  and  martyrs  in  the  past,  and  is  tilled  now  by  some 
of  the  ablest  and  best  men  living,  needs  no  further  vindi- 
cation from  me.  To  a  blind  man  only  is  it  necessary  to 
prove  that  the  sun  at  noonday  in  midsummer  gives  light. 
Because  of  its  intellectual  advantages,  then,  we  should 
to-day  say  :  **  We  will  not  forsake  the  house  of  our 
God." 

THE   MORAL    AND    SPIRITUAL    ADVANTAGES. 

3.  As  a  third  and  last  reason,  I  name  the  moral  and 
spiritual  advantages  for  time  and  eternity  connected  with 
keeping  the  Sabbath  and  attending  the  house  of  God. 

What  a  blessing  is  the  Christian  Sunday  now,  as  was 
the  Jewish  Sabbath  in  ancient  times  !  Happy  is  that 
land  and  blessed  is  that  family  where  the  Sabbath  is  kept 
holy,  and  God  is  loved  and  served  !  A  week  without 
Sunday  is  like  a  country  without  the  smell  of  flowers  or 
the  song  of  birds.  It  is  like  a  year  without  a  summer, 
nothing  but  bleak,  barren,  frozen  winter.  It  is  like  a 
night  without  a  morning,  nothing  but  sorrow,  darkness, 
death.  Sunday  is  the  embankment  which  God  has  built, 
against  which  the  waves  of  care  and  sorrow  which  for 
six  long  days  have  been  rolling  over  the  heads  and  hearts 
of  anxious  men  and  weary  women,  may  break  and  scat- 
ter themselves  in  harmless  spray  and  beautiful  foam. 
Sunday  is  God's  benediction  on  a  troubled  world.    He 


I  \ 


202 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CllUCIFIED. 


11 


;ii! 


stretches  out  His  mighty  and  loving  hands  over  us,  and 
the  gentle  benediction  falls.  He  speaks  the  word  of 
"  Peace"  and  the  noise  of  trade  and  strife  ceases  ;  the 
spindle  rests  in  the  loom,  the  grinding  ceases  in  the  mill, 
the  store  remains  closed,  and  God's  hush — making  even 
silence  vocal — alone  is  heard  ;  and  every  heart  is  uplifted 
in  holy  song  or  bowed  in  humble  prayer.  Such  is  God's 
idea  of  Sunday,  such  should  be  ours. 

A  period  of  rest  for  man  and  beast  is  an  unavoidable 
necessity.  Even  if  God  had  made  no  positive  law  on 
this  subject,  the  necessities  of  the  case  would  compel  the 
observance  of  periods  of  rest.  Extensively  also,  among 
many  heathen  nations  the  seventh  day,  or  the  seventh 
part  of  the  time,  was  given  to  rest.  It  was  called  a 
**holy  day."  The  French  nation  during  the  Revolu- 
tion, when  they  denied  the  existence  of  God  and  de- 
spised the  Bible,  were  still  obliged  to  observe  a  period 
of  rest.  They  appointed  the  **  Decade,"  taking  for  rest 
one  day  in  ten. 

To  the  laboring  man  Sunday  is  a  boon  and  a  benedic- 
tion. Disraeli,  in  his  "  Tancred,"  well  says  :  "  The  life 
and  property  of  England  are  protected  by  the  laws  of 
Sinai.  The  hard-working  people  of  England  are  secured 
a  day  of  rest  in  every  week  by  the  laws  of  Sinai." 
Humboldt,  who  certainly  was  not  a  prejudiced  witness, 
and'  who  saw  the  working  of  the  decimal  system  in 
France,  says  :  **  The  selection  of  one  day  in  seven  is  the 
wisest  that  can  be  made.  When  in  the  time  of  the  Rev- 
olution I  spent  some  time  in  Paris  I  saw  the  institution 
of  the  Sabbath,  despite  its  divine  origin,  suspended  by 
the  dry  and  decimal  system.  But  this  was  decidedly  too 
long.  I  am  convinced  that  six  days  is  the  just  measure. 
To  lengthen  the  interval  is  as  inhuman  as  it  is  foolish." 
It  has  been  abundantly  proved  by  many  actual  tests  that 


REASONS  FOR   PUBLIC   WORSHIP. 


JJG3 


men  and  beasts  will  accomplish  more  work  in  a  year  by 
obeying  God  in  observing  the  Sabbath  ;  and  many  men 
are  now  in  lunatic  asylums  just  because  they  disobeyed 
God  by  working  on  that  day  ;  failing  to  give  their  brain 
the  rest  it  needed,  they  brought  upon  themselves  inevi- 
table punishment.  No  class  of  men  are  more  interested 
in  this  subject  than  the  laboring  classes,  so-called,  and 
yet  no  class  has  shown  greater  blindness  than  the  Sab- 
bath-breakers among  them  to  their  own  best  interests. 
They  are  their  own  w^orst  enemies.  In  breaking  God's 
law  of  the  Sabbath  they  are  also  breaking  His  law  of 
health  in  their  own  bodies.  They  are  not  reaping  the 
benefit  which  this  day  of  rest  is  designed  to  give  them. 
Our  hearts  ache  for  their  folly  and  mourn  over  their 
crime. 

Many  persons  are  benefited  in  large  measure  by  church- 
going  who  are  not  benefited  in  the  fullest  measure  pos- 
sible. They  are  profited  in  their  outward  life  and  in  the 
morals  of  the  community.  This  is  itself  a  great  gain. 
Clean  linen  and  one's  best  clothes  are  a  means  of  grace. 
One  is  descending  in  the  scale  of  humanity,  he  is  getting 
further  from  the  angelic  end  and  nearer  the  devilish, 
who  does  not  care  enough  for  Sunday  to  fix  up  himself 
and  his  family  on  that  day.  He  is  the  enemy  of  the 
Republic,  he  is  the  foe  of  humanity,  who  lifts  hand  or 
voice  against  God's  Sabbath.  Is  there  honesty  any- 
where ?  Is  there  any  man  whom  we  may  trust  ?  We 
bow  our  heads  in  shame  ;  we  hide  our  faces  in  con- 
fusion ;  we  pray  God  be  merciful,  and  not  make  us  as 
Sodom.  But  would  not  things  be  worse  were  it  not  for 
the  restraining  influences  of  Sabbaths  and  sanctuaries  ? 
We  may  now  say,  as  Franklin  said  of  his  times  :  **  If 
men  are  so  bad  with  religion,  what  would  they  be  with- 
out it?" 


% 


S64 


cnUIST,    AND  niM  CnUCIFIRD. 


nil 


Every  business  man  knows  that  the  morals  inculcated 
in  our  churches  tend  greatly  to  restrain  wickedness  and 
foster  righteousness.  Close  all  our  churches  to-day  for- 
ever ;  let  our  ministers  abandon  the  city,  and  real  estate 
would  not  be  worth  jiiuch  one  year  hence.  Old  Dr. 
South  spoke  the  truth  when  he  said  :  ''  If  there  was  not 
a  minister  in  every  parish,  you  would  quickly  find  cause 
to  increase  the  number  of  constables  ;  if  the  churches 
were  not  employed  to  be  places  to  hear  God'd  law,  there 
would  be  need  of  them  to  be  prisons  for  the  breakers  of 
the  laws  of  men."  This  church  increases  the  value  of 
every  inch  of  real  estate  in  this  vicinity.  1  would  not 
apologize  to  any  property-holder  when  I  ask  him  for  aid 
in  supporting  a  church.  It  is  the  best  police  force. 
Looking  at  this  whole  subject  from  even  the  point  of  a 
moralist,  so-calle^^  there  is  great  reason  for  observing 
the  command  of  God,  on  this  wall  before  you,  "  Ye 
shall  keep  My  Sabbaths,  and  reverence  My  nanctuary." 
The  higher  religious  motive  makes  the  obligation  more 
binding.  Here  is  the  culminating  point  of  all  w^e  have 
said.  The  will  of  God  may  be  learned  and  the  salvation 
of  God  found  anywhere  ;  but  in  His  house,  and  in  the 
preaching  and  hearing  of  His  Word,  we  may  come  more 
immediately  into  His  presence. 

We  sometimes  hear  persons  excuse  themselves  from 
the  house  of  God  on  the  ground  that  they  can  read  a 
good  sermon  at  home.  As  a  rule,  a  sermon  is  the  very 
last  thing  which  such  persons  wMll  read  at  home  or  else- 
where. But  granting  that  they  are  perfectly  honest,  it 
would  be  better  to  hear  the  sermon.  Even  a  poor  ser- 
mon, when  set  on  fire  by  the  love  of  God  in  the  heart 
of  the  preacher,  may  become  a  tremendous  power.  A 
sermon  needs  a  man  behind  it — a  living,  loving  man — 
who  is  himself  the  incarnation  of  the  truths  he  utters. 


REASONS  lOH   PUBLIC   WOUSIIIP. 


;^G5 


The  man  is  more  than  the  preaclior — certainly  more  tlian 
the  sermon.  A  single  sermon  by  an  obscure  and  un- 
known man,  who  preached  for  the  famous  Edmund 
Calamy,  was  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  John  Owen, 
who  for  five  years  was  in  deep  deb[)ondency,  and  for 
three  months  scarcely  spoke  to  any  one.  Tlie  text  wad, 
**  Why  are  ye  so  fearful,  oh  ye  of  little  faith  ?"  The 
sermon  was  balm  to  the  bruised  heart ;  it  proved  to  bo 
his  physical,  mental,  and  moral  cure.  Amon^  the  pupils 
of  John  Owen  were  John  Locke  and  William  Penn  ;  his 
readers  are  almost  all  the  Erij^lish-speaking  people  ;  eter- 
nity alone  will  reveal  Lis  work.  A  single  sermon  by 
Livingston  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  at  least  five  hun- 
dred, and  originated  a  movement  which  extended  through 
the  west  of  Scotland  and  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  thou- 
sands felt  its  influences. 

In  an  obscure  corner  of  a  humble  chapel  there  sat,  one 
Sunday  morning,  a  young  man  burdened  with  a  sense  of 
sin.  His  heart  was  longing  for  rest  and  peace.  The 
preacher  rose  in  the  pulpit.  Tie  was  a  feeble  old  man, 
a  primitive  Methodist,  1  believe.  lie  was  not  learned, 
not  eloquent,  not  famous.  With  a  trembling  voice  ho 
announced  his  text  :  '*  Look  unto  Me,  and  bo  ye  saved, 
all  the  ends  of  the  earth  ;  for  I  am  God,  and  there  is 
none  else."  He  exalted  Christ  as  the  sinner's  only 
refuge.  As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent,  so  he  displayed 
Christ.  The  congregation  was  small.  The  eyes  of  the 
preacher  seemed  to  rest  upon  the  yoimg  man.  Raising 
his  voice  he  shouted,  *'  Young  man,  look,  look  now  !" 
It  was  the  birth-moment  of  the  new  life.  The  young 
man  looked  and  lived.  With  the  look  of  faith  came 
life.  The  burden  fell  from  his  heart.  Joy  tilled  hia 
soul.  lie  left  the  house  justified.  The  humble  preacher 
knew  not,  but  God  did,  what  glorious  work  was  dono 


i 


J>(]G 


CHRIST,    AND   niM   CRUCIFIED. 


ii 


K' 


that  morning.  That  young  man  is  known  throughout 
tlie  entire  worhl  as  tho  greatest  preacher  since  Paurs 
translation.  His  name — need  1  say  it  ?— is  Charles  II. 
Spurgeon. 

It  is  true  God  might  have  done  these  great  things,  if 
these  ministers  had  not  proaclied  and  their  hearers  had 
not  attended  the  house  of  God.  But  God  works  by 
means,  and  wo  dare  not  separate  the  results  which  in  His 
sovereign  pleasure  lie  ordains  from  the  means  which,  in 
his  sovereign  pleasure,  He  appoints.  Humanly  speak- 
ing, their  salvation  depended  on  their  attendance  on  tho 
worship  of  God  in  His  holy  temple.  Preaching  is  God's 
chosen  instrument  to  lead  men  to  Himself.  The  printed 
page  haa  its  use,  but  the  living  voice  of  the  living 
preacher  is  the  divine  method.  When  the  Holy  Ghost 
came  in  mighty  power  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  He 
rested  as  a  tongue  over  the  heads  of  the  disciples.  Tho 
symbol  is  significant.  Let  us  follow  God's  plan.  Tho 
pulpit  was  never  a  mightier  force  than  it  is  to-day.  An 
uplifted  Christ  still  draws  men  unto  Himself. 

OUR  OPENING. 

It  is  to  many  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  opening  ser- 
vices occur  while  so  many  of  our  warmest  friends  are 
away.  I  cannot,  however,  but  believe  that  this,  too,  is 
wisely  ordered  of  God.  For  thirteen  years  I  have  striven 
by  voice  and  pen  to  oppose  the  too  common  habit  in  our 
city  of  closing  the  churches  in  summer.  We  might  as 
well  close  in  January  as  in  July.  God  has  owned  our 
work  in  summer's  heat  as  in  winter's  cold.  It  seems 
fitting  that  this  forward  movement,  this  aggressive  step, 
should  be  taken  now  in  midsummer.  God  has  honored 
our  faith  ;  he  has  rewarded  our  summer  work.     While 


T 


UKA60K.S    FOU   PLHLIO    WOUSIIIP. 


207 


80  many  churches  arc  closed  and  religious  work  inter- 
riiptudf  if  not  suspended,  wo  are  permitted  to  take  pos< 
session  of  this  now  field  for  Christ. 

Standing  to-day  on  the  border-lino  between  tho  old 
home  on  Twenty-third  Street  and  tho  yot  incomplete 
home  on  Fifty-seventh  Street,  wo  look  tenderly  and 
gratefully  backward  ;  wo  look  joyously  and  prayerfully 
forward.  To  many  tho  old  homo  was  often  tho  very 
gate  of  heaven.  There  many  of  you  found  Christ ;  there 
many  of  you  left  heavy  burdens  ;  thero  many  found  in- 
spiration for  the  trials  of  life  ;  thero  the  last  words  were 
spoken  over  your  beloved  dead.  Tender  memories  both 
of  the  living  and  the  dead  gather  about  tho  dear  old 
liome.  Workmen  may  tear  it  down  ;  soon  as  a  church 
it  will  be  no  more  ;  but  it  has  made  an  imperishable  his- 
tory. In  letters  of  living  light  tho  recording  angel  has 
written  its  story  before  the  throne  of  God.  Farewell  to 
the  old  home  I  "Welcome  to  the  new  !  May  this  church 
be  anointed  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  tho  poor,  to  heal  the 
broken-hearted,  and  to  preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the 
Lord  I  Here  we  shall  over  have  a  welcome  for  the 
stranger.  Here  we  shall  ever  hold  ourselves  your  ser- 
vants for  "  Jesus'  sake."  Here  in  the  presence  of  God 
and  His  peoples  we  shall  declare  with  pious  and  patriotic 
Nehemiah — "  We  will  not  forsake  the  house  of  our 
God." 


I\ 


i 


XXL 


'^ 


i        .'!l 


.'I 


''I 


VOICEFUL  STOKES.* 

"  What  mean  ye  by  these  stones?" — Josh.  4  :  6. 

The  long  and  weary  wilderness  journey  was  over. 
Moses,  the  leader  and  lawgiver  of  Israel,  had  now  gone 
up  to  glory  and  God.  His  mantle  had  fallen  upon  the 
son  of  Nun,  the  brave  and  noble  Joshua.  The  task 
assigned  him  was  great ;  the  divine  promises  given  him 
were  greater.  God  said  to  Joshua  :  **  Be  strong  and  of 
a  good  courage  ;  be  not  afraid,  neither  be  thou  dis- 
mayed ;  for  the  Lord  thy  God  is  with  thee  whithersoever 
thou  goest."  He  also  added:  **  There  shall  not  any 
man  be  able  to  stand  before  thee  all  the  days  of  thy  life  ; 
as  I  was  with  Moses  so  will  I  be  with  thee  ;  1  will  not 
fail  thee,  nor  forsake  thee. ' '  These  are  great  and  pre- 
cious promises.  Joshua  caught  their  inspiration.  He 
had  shown  a  spirit  of  trustful  bravery,  when  forty  years 
before  he  exhorted  the  people  to  go  up  against  the  land. 
In  that  spirit  he  now  assumed  command  of  the  hosts  of 
God.  Forward  went  the  priests  of  the  Lord  bearing  the 
ark  of  the  Lord.  Their  feet  ar<_  dipped  in  the  brim  of 
the  Jordan,  and  lo  !  the  bed  of  the  river  is  dried  up. 
The  rushing  tide  of  waters,  in  this  time  of  harvest, 
"  rose  up  upon  a  heap  very  far  from  the  city  Adam, 
that  is  beside  Zaretan  ;' '  while  the  waters  below  were 
carried  on  to  the  Dead  Sea.     Forward  went  the  priests 

*  Preached  at  the  opening  of  the  new  Calvary  Baptist  Church, 
Sunday  morning,  December  23d,  1883. 


VOICEFUL   STONES. 


269 


pre- 
He 


mrch. 


with  the  ark  into  the  middle  of  the  river.  There  they 
stood  until  the  people  *  *  dry-shod  passed  over  right 
against  Jericho."  • 

At  the  command  of  God,  through  Joshua,  twelve  men 
out  of  the  people,  out  of  every  tribe  a  man,  took  twelve 
stones  out  of  the  Jordan,  from  the  place  where  the 
priests'  feet  stood  firm.  These  stones  Joshua  set  up 
*'fora  memorial  unto  the  children  of  Israel  forever." 
Much  ingenuity  has  been  exercised  in  explaining  this 
narrative.  "We  do  not  stop  to  discuss  the  many  questions 
it  suggests.  This  primitive  form  of  a  memorial  is  com- 
mon to  almost  all  nations.  Of  this  character  are  the 
Egyptian  obelisks  and  the  cairns  and  Druidical  circles  in 
England  and  Scotland.  The  text  is  the  question  of  the 
children.  The  sight  of  the  cairn  would  awaken  curiosity. 
It  has  been  well  asked,  "  What  child  in  Altorf  but  must 
have  inquired  respecting  the  statue  of  Yv^illiam  Tell,  or 
in  Lucerne,  about  the  lion  sculptured  by  Thorwaldsen  to 
commemorate  the  deaths  of  the  Swiss  Guard  ?"  Cross- 
ing the  Jordan  dry-shod  was  the  great  miracle  of  the  en- 
trance into  Canaan.  The  memorial  stones  would  remind 
the  tribes  of  God's  greatness  and  goodness.  But  the 
stones  must  have  tongues  in  order  that  their  testimony 
may  be  more  complete.  They  were  not  simply  to  be 
memorial ;  they  were  also  to  be  declaratory.  The  living 
voice  was  to  accompany  the  stony  witnesses.  Each 
stone  is  a  preacher,  but  the  voice  of  living  preachers  is 
added.  Parents  were  to  tell  their  children  how  they 
had  come  over  Jordan  on  dry  land.  It  is  believed 
that  the  cairn  remained  at  least  until  some  centuries  after 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  But  the  instruction  of 
parents  as  presented  here  gives  the  event  a  more  endur- 
ing memorial. 

Without  departing  from  the  original  significance  of 


'Z70 


CHlllST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


I'M 


I. 


i  I'l 


if>^ 


'.  'i 


h 


1 


111 


t. 


!l 


these  monumental  stones,  wo  find  in  them  to-day  not 
really  new  lessons,  but  a  new  application  of  the  old 
lesson.  Occupying  to-day  for  the  first  time  this  liouso 
of  worship,  it  is  fitting  that  we  ask  and  answer  the  old 
question,  ^'  What  mean  ye  by  these  stones  ?"  The  form 
which  the  stones  have  taken  partly  answers  the  question. 
Turret,  tower,  and  spire  point  heavenward.  They  de- 
clare in  their  eloquent  silence  that  there  is  a  life  beyond 
t^iis  ;  that  it  is  not  all  of  life  to  live  ;  that  we  are  the 
lieirs  of  an  immortal  life.  In  its  symmetry  and  sincerity 
i<he  whole  structure  preaches  the  need  of  truth  in  the 
heart  and  life.  This  is  a  ^*  sincere"  building.  Contra- 
diction between  seeming  and  being  is  bad  always  and 
everywhere  ;  in  tlie  house  of  God  it  is  abominable. 
The  attempt  to  deceive  by  false  pillars,  arches,  and  re- 
cesses is  bad  both  in  art  and  religion.  If  any  building 
in  the  world  should  be  true  it  is  a  house  dedicated  to  the 
worship  of  God.  But,  furthermore,  in  letters  of  stone 
over  the  central  entrance  these  stones  declare  their  mis- 
sion :  '^  "We  preach  Christ  crucified."  Let  us  not  belie 
their  testimony  ;  and  let  us  add  the  testimony  of  the 
living  voice  to  the  "testimony  of  the  rocks."  Let  us 
tell  our  children,  and  may  they  tell  their  children  from 
generation  to  generation,  what  we  mean  by  these  stones. 
Better  that  they  had  never  left  their  native  quarries  than 
that  they  should  preach  another  gospel,  which  is  not  a 
gospel,  than  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  as  the  only  hope  of  a 
lost  world. 

1.  These  stones,  in  the  first  place,  express  our  convic- 
tion of  the  world's  need  of  Christ's  Gospel.  Bin  is  tlio 
terrible  fact  in  human  existence.  No  true  thinkf3r  on 
moral  problems  will  shut  his  eyes  to  thit*  sad  human  ex- 
perience. The  man  who  fails  to  see  that  the  removftl  of 
sin  is  the  world's  great  need  is  not  a  thinker  ;  ho  is  si  in- 


ay  not 
:he  old 
3  houso 
the  old 
le  form 
lestlon. 
ley  de- 
beyond 
are  the 
incerity 
L  in  the 
Contra- 
lys  and 
linable. 
and  re- 
)uilding 
1  to  the 
f  stone 
sir  mis- 
ot  belie 
of  the 
Let  ns 
n  from 
stones, 
es  than 
s  not  a 
pe  of  a 

convic- 
is  tho 
iker  on 
lan  el- 
ovfll  of 
is  eim- 


VOICEFUL   STONES. 


271 


ply  a  shallow  empiric.  He  has  not  discovered  tho  world's 
great  malady.  He  is  simply  playing  at  philosopher  and 
humanitarian.  Christ  proved  Himself  to  be  an  exhans- 
tive  analyst  of  character  and  life  when  lie  summed  up 
His  diagnosis  of  Man's  moral  condition  by  describing  it 
as  **  that  which  was  lost."  Ho  gloriously  set  forth  His 
own  mission  when  He  said  that  He  came  "  to  seek  and 
to  save.'*  Not  tho  well,  but  the  sick  need  a  pliysician  ; 
not  the  saved,  but  the  lost  need  a  Saviour.  The  race  is 
sick  and  lost  ;  Christ  is  the  Physician  and  the  Saviour. 

But  we  know  that  it  is  extremely  difficult,  often  quite 
impossible,  to  get  men  to  see  the  sinfulness  of  sin  against 
God.  The  strong  statements  of  the  Bible  shock  and 
annoy  them.  The  sad  condition  of  men  they  attribute 
to  some  other  cause.  The  nature  of  the  world's  disease 
they  misunderstand  because  they  examine  it  with  dis- 
eased eyes.  They  are  themselves  the  subject  of  the  cor- 
ruption on  which  they  attempt  to  pronounce  judgment. 
Their  judgment,  therefore,  becomes  manifestly  incor- 
rect. Satan  often  comes  arrayed  as  an  angol  of  light  ; 
he  may  thus  deceive  the  very  elect.  Sin,  like  .Fezebejj 
paints  its  face  and  tires  its  head.  Man's  inability  to  see 
the  deceitfulness  of  sin  is  one  of  the  fruits  of  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  sin.  It  takes  from  us  the  capacity  to  under- 
stand its  true  character.  It  robs  men  of  spiritual  health 
and  yet  cheats  them  with  the  hectic  flush  ;  it  beggars 
them  and  yet  tells  them  that  they  are  increased  in  goods. 
It  soothes  while  it  stabs  ;  it  stabs  while  it  soothes.  It  is 
us3leBH  to  trifle.  The  evil  remains.  It  will  not  "  dowu'' 
at  tho  philanthropic  philosopher's  bidding.  The  enact- 
nientH  of  legislatures  will  not  remove  it.  We  cannot 
n>i\no  it  out  of  the  world  by  giving  it  complimentary 
defl/iiHo/iK  Wlidt  is  cold?  Nothing,  wome  say,  but 
aimniiti  of  heat.     It  ia  nothing  in  itself  ;  it  has  no  posi- 


272 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CllUCIFIED. 


\yi  IS 


tive  character  ;  it  is  only  a  negation.  This  definition  is 
soothing  to  the  philosoplier  by  his  warm  fire.  But  the 
poor  man  out  yonder  is  shivering,  freezing,  dying  in  the 
biting,  bitter  cold.  "What  matters  it  that  it  is  only  ab- 
sence of  heat  ;  the  man  will  soon  be  dead.  Of  course 
darkness  is  nothing  ;  it  is  only  the  absence  of  light. 
This  surely  is  plain  enough.  Nevertheless  men  will 
stumble  in  it  notwithstanding  the  mitigating  definition. 
So  the  light-hearted  teacher  tells  us  that  sin  is  but  little  ; 
it  is  only  the  absence  of  holiness.  But  even  that  is 
much.  It  is  the  absence  of  wholeness  ;  it  is  the  absence 
of  happiness  ;  it  is  the  absence  of  Godlikeness  here  ;  it 
is  the  absence  of  heaven  hereafter. 

But  sin  is  more.  It  has  separated  man  from  God  ;  it 
has  separated  man  from  man.  Sin  is  the  prolific  parent 
of  all  our  woes.  It  is  the  terrible  thing  which  God 
hates.  It  has  a  positive  character  ;  it  is  earthly,  sensual, 
devilish.  The  world  has  felt  its  polluting  touch  ;  its 
trail  is  over  all  the  products  of  human  imagination, 
reason  and  affection.  The  world  all  about  us  illustrates 
and  emphasizes  the  teachings  of  Scripture.  Experience 
and  observation,  as  certainly  as  the  Scriptures,  say, 
*'  There  is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one."  They  corrob- 
orate Paul's  first  chapter  in  the  letter  to  the  Romans. 
No  wonder  that  some  heathen  of  our  day  who  first  heard 
it  charged  the  missionary  who  was  familiar  with  their 
lives  with  having  written  it.  In  the  fulness  of  time  the 
Christ  was  born.  One  element,  the  negative  element, 
in  that  fulness  was  the  world's  fruitless  effort  to  help 
itself.  Rome  was  mistress  of  the  world.  More  than 
one  hundred  millions  of  people  lay  bleeding  at  her  feet. 
She  stamped  her  foot  and  mighty  armies  leaped  to  obey 
her  call.  Their  tread  shook  the  earth.  But  she  was 
powerless  to  drive  out  the  awf  li!  conuptio  is  which  wore 


VOICEFUL  STONES. 


273 


it 


>man8. 
heard 

their 
ne  the 
ment, 
o  help 

than 
r  feet. 

obey 
e  was 

were 


eating  out  all  that  was  noble  in  her  life.  All  authorities 
agree  with  Tacitus  and  Juvenal  in  their  fearful  descrip- 
tions of  the  corruptions  which  permeated  all  ranks  of 
society.  The  Emperor  was  a  god  ;  the  individual  was  a 
slave.  The  Pantheon,  as  has  been  said,  was  only  the 
monument  of  an  early  and  amusing  superstition.  Faith 
was  dead  ;  hope  was  dying  ;  Rome  was  broken  at  heart. 
The  highest  art  and  culture  of  Greece  could  only  build 
an  altar  on  Mars'  Plill  **  to  the  unknown  God,"  and  then 
fall  down  in  helpless  worship.  Mighty  Rome  in  her  ab- 
ject helplessness  was  calling  for  a  deliverer.  Beautiful 
Greece  was  stretching  out  her  hands  for  a  healer.  Christ 
was  both  to  both  so  far  as  they  received  Him.  The  ex- 
perience of  the  world  must  be  that  of  each  individual. 
The  world  to-day  is  sick,  helpless,  sinful.  Apart  from 
Christ's  Gospel  it  can  find  no  help.  "  It  lieth  in  the 
arms  of  the  wicked  one."  God  says,  and  experience 
echoes  the  saying,  **  Thou  hast  destroyed  thyself.*' 
Thank  God  He  speaks  this  other  word  :  "  But  in  Me  is 
thy  help." 

2.  Again,  these  stones  express  our  faith  in  Christ's 
Gospel  to  meet  the  world's  need. 

The  Gospel  proclaims  the  divine  specific  for  sin.  It 
comes  to  the  world  at  its  lowest  and  darkest  point  with 
help  and  hope.  To  each  man  guilty  and  condemned  it 
offers,  through  the  death  and  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ, 
a  full  and  free  pardon.  Throwing  aside  all  distinctions 
of  condition  and  culture  it  regards  us  all  as  "  concluded 
under  sin."  When  we  repent  of  and  forsake  our  sins  it 
assures  us  that  God  will  abundantly  pardon.  The  con- 
dition of  pardon  shows  alike  the  matchless  lovo  and  peer- 
less wisdom  of  God.  '^  How  shall  man  be  just  with 
God  ?"  is  the  question  of  the  ages.  No  man,  no  angel 
could  {jnswer  it.     God  solves  the  problem.     The  cross  is 


274 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CIIUCIFIED. 


II 


mm 


the  answer.  There  righteousness  and  truth  met  together, 
there  mercy  and  peace  have  i  ssed  each  other.  God  can 
now  be  just  and  the  Justifier  of  him  who  believes  in 
Jesus.  "  If  the  Gospel  cannot  save  a  man,  nothing  can. 
It  is  still  the  world's  hope.  No  wonder  that  it  made 
such  rapid  triumphs  when  first  it  was  preached.  It  found 
the  world  weary  with  its  sins,  its  philosophies,  and  its 
idolatries.  Thoughtful  souls  were  longing  for  help  here 
and  hope  hereafter.  The  Gospel  came  as  bread  to  the 
hungry,  light  to  those  groping  in  the  dark,  and  life  to  the 
dying.  It  was  a  ray  of  supernal  splendor  in  a  world  of 
earthly  blackness.  It  revealed  God  as  a  loving  Father 
and  Saviour,  and  heaven  as  an  eternal  home.  We  can 
scarcely  estimate  the  blessedness  of  this  heavenly  boon. 
It  broke  the  po  ver  and  removed  the  condemnation  of 
sin.  It  showed  how  Christ  had  borne  it  in  His  own 
body,  and  how  by  His  stripes  we  are  healed.  It  also 
made  the  attainment  of  a  holy  character  a  possibility.  It 
does  so  still.  It  makes  the  redeemed  here  have  fore- 
tastes of  heaven. 

The  Gospel  is  the  harmonizer  of  all  the  conflicting 
interests  of  human  society.  It  alone  can  elevate  the 
*^  masses  ;"  it  alone  can  reclaim  the  fallen.  Dr.  Alex- 
ander MacLeod,  in  his  "  Christus  Consolator,"  says  that 
*'  When  Orsted  lirst  exhibited  to  Frederika  Bremer  the 
beautiful  and  now  familiar  experiment  of  sand-grains 
upon  a  glass  plate  arranging  themselves,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  musical  note,  in  symmetrical  and  harmonious 
figures,  this  reflection  passed  through  the  mind  of  the 
lady  :  *  A  human  hand  made  the  stroke  that  produced 
the  note.  But  when  the  stroke  is  made  bv  the  hand  of 
the  Almighty,  will  not  the  note  then  produced  bring  into 
exquisitely  harmonious  form  those  sand-grains  which  are 
liunian  beings,   communities,   nation^.     It  "svill  arrange 


ether, 
)d  can 
ves  in 
g  can. 
mado 
found 
md  its 
p  here 
to  the 
to  the 
3rld  of 
Father 
V^e  can 
'  boon, 
tion  of 
is  own 
It  also 
y.     It 
)  fore- 

licting 

Ite  the 
Alex- 
's that 
er  the 

-grains 
influ- 

[onious 
of  the 

bduced 

land  of 
ig  into 
|ch  are 

irrange 


VOICEFUL   STONES, 


275 


the  world  in  beauty,  and  there  shall  be  no  discord,  and 
no  lamentation  any  more.'"  Tnis  woman  is  right. 
That  divinely  musical  note  is  the  preaching  of  the  glori- 
ous Gospel  of  Christ.  Christ  was  a  workingman  ;  H  is 
apostles  were  workingmen.  The  laborer  finds  in  Christ 
his  truest  friend.  All  that  is  true  in  communism  is  the 
offspring  of  Christ's  religion  ;  all  that  is  evil  is  opposed 
by  that  Gospel.  His  religion  is  the  cure  for  all  the  evils 
existing  between  employer  and  employed.  Put  Christ 
into  the  hearts  of  both  and  injustice,  oppression,  and 
strikes  will  be  impossible.  No  form  of  slavery  can  exist 
in  an  atmosphere  warmed  by  the  love  of  Christ.  In  that 
warmth  the  chains  of  slavery  melt.  Cuuld  Philemon 
look  on  Onesimus  as  a  chattel  wliiiii  the  love  of  Christ 
was  in  the  hearts  of  both  ?  Impossible  !  The  old  bond 
might  for  a  time  exist.  Paul  recognized  its  claim.  But 
Onesimus  and  his  master  Philemon  Avcro  now  brethren 
in  Christ.  Onesimus  must  go  back,  but  now  as  a  brother 
to  a  brother.  This  spirit  has  destroyed  slavery  wher- 
ever it  has  been  destroyed.  Tell  me  what  good  thing  all 
the  centuries  have  prtMliiced  whose  origin  is  not  in  this 
blessed  Go»«pel  ?  Religion  now,  as  in  all  the  past,  lifts 
nations  and  races  out  of  barbarism  into  civilization,  out 
of  sin  into  liolinew;,  from  earth  to  heaven.  Think  of  the 
ignorance  in  which  the  Weslevs  found  the  common  peo- 
ple of  England  !  Who  can  estimate  their  power  for 
good  ?  So-called  refonners  and  humanitarians  who  are 
infidel  to  Christ  and  His  Gospel,  are  the  enemies  of  the 
poor,  the  enemies  of  the  Republic,  the  enemies  of  the 
race.  Those  who  would  lift  their  hand  against  the  Bible, 
against  the  Sabbath,  against  Christ,  are  the  enemies  of 
the  best  interests  of  all  classes  for  time  and  eternity. 

By  means  of  the  poor  Christ's  kingdom  was  first  organ- 
ized.    The  poor  knew  Him  to  be  their  true  Friend.     To 


n 


i  t  , 


u\  ■ 


Ifltil 


If 


,1 

1 

ill 

,' 

1 

^^i 

2:6 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CKUCIPIED. 


them  there  was  music  in  His  voice,  there  was  sympathy 
in  His  heart,  there  was  help  in  His  hand.  If  we  are  to 
help  the  poor  we  must  put  Christ  into  their  poverty. 
Religion  would  vastly  reduce  the  number  of  the  poor. 
It  is  the  friend  of  industry  and  all  kindred  virtues  ;  it  is 
the  foe  of  intemperance  and  all  kindred  vices.  The 
poor  do  not  so  much  need  bread  as  the  character  and  the 
opportunity  to  earn  bread.  Religion  in  the  heart  gives 
both.  Much  is  said  about  carrying  the  loaf  with  th^ 
tract.  This  idea  has  been  overworked.  It  is  instructive 
to  remember  that  only  twice  did  Christ  use  divine  power 
to  give  bread  to  tlie  multitude  ;  and  in  both  cases  the 
circumstances  were  peculiar.  The  poor  need  the  religion 
of  Christ  more  than  bread  except  for  immediate  neces- 
sities. He  is  the  true  Bread.  Give  them  that  and  the 
other  bread  will  come.  Christ  gave  Himself.  He  offers 
Himself  still.  There  were  as  many  evils,  as  Dr.  Mac- 
Leod suggests,  in  Christ's  day  as  now.  There  were 
then  the  lapsed  classes,  the  dwellers  in  lanes,  the  victims 
of  sin  and  misery  of  every  kind.  What  was  Christ's 
cure  ?  Evangelize  them.  Did  He  blunder  ?  Was  He 
lacking  in  gentleness  and  love  ?  Perish  the  thought  ! 
He  was  the  true  Reformer,  the  Divine  Humanitarian, 
the  Spiritual  Regenerator  of  the  individual  and  the  race. 
There  is  profound  philosophy  in  His  method.  His 
spirit  teaches  the  rich  and  the  poor  alike  to  recognize  the 
poor  man's  manhood.  This  is  a  recognition  of  tremen- 
dor?  power.  It  gives  hope,  light,  life  to  the  poor.  It 
lets  into  the  poorest  liome  and  the  saddest  heart  a  flash 
of  the  glory  of  the  niiiiennial  dawn.  It  gives  those  who 
are  up  tenderness  for  those  who  are  down  ;  it  gives  those 
who  are  down  trustfulness  toward  those  who  are  up. 
The  preacher  of  tiie  Gospel  is  the  poor  man's  best  earthly 
friend.     He  tells  of  a  Oli/ist  who  was  poor,  and  who  has 


TOICEFUL   STONES. 


Banctified  and  forever  glorified  poverty.  Christ's  incar- 
nation has  lifted  the  world  into  the  sunshine  of  hope  and 
the  promise  of  heaven.  It  has  levelled  society  by  lift- 
ing the  down-trodden — levelled  it  up.  It  makes  lowli- 
ness loftiness,  meekness  mightiness,  and  gentleness  great- 
ness. Guizot  says  that  **  Christianity  has  carried  repent- 
ance even  into  the  souls  of  nations.  Pagan  antiquity 
knew  nothing  of  these  awakenings  of  the  public  con- 
science. Tacitus  could  only  deplore  the  decay  of  the 
ancient  rites  of  Rome,  and  Marcus  Aurclius  could  only 
wrap  himself  sorrowfully  up  in  the  stoicel  isolation  of 
the  sage  ;  there  is  notliing  to  show  that  these  superior 
minds  so  much  as  suspected  tlie  gicat  crimes  of  their 
social  state,  even  in  its  best  days,  or  aspired  to  reform 
them."  The  world's  hope  in  every  relation  of  life  is  in 
this  old  Gospel.  It  must  have  its  place  in  every  heart ; 
it  must  throw  its  radiance  over  every  home  ;  it  must 
be  in  every  workshop  and  counting-house.  Then  will  be 
realized  the  dream  of  the  eloquent  and  tuneful  Macaulay, 
in  his  "  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome  :" 

' '  Then  none  was  for  a  party  ; 

Then  all  were  for  the  state  ; 
Then  the  great  man  helped  the  poor. 

And  the  poor  man  loved  the  great : 
Then  lands  were  fairly  portioned  ; 

Then  spoils  were  fairly  sold  : 
The  Eomaus  were  like  brothers 

In  the  brave  days  of  old." 

This  church  stands  for  this  idea.  It  is  not  the  clmrch 
of  the  rich  ;  it  is  not  the  church  of  the  poor  ;  it  is 
neither  ;  it  is  both.  The  spirit  of  the  world  divides 
society  horizontally — each  class  selecting  its  correspond- 
ing layer.  The  spirit  of  Christ's  religion  divides  society 
vertically,  cutting  through  all  the  layers.  True  religion 
says,  whether  a  man  be  black  or  wliite,  red  or  yellow. 


278 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


MS 


rich  or  poor,  **  A  man's  a  man  for  a'  that. "  Away  witli 
the  sentimental  but  Christloss  philanthropist  !  Away  with 
the  blatant  and  blasphemous  iulidel  I  The  true  friend 
of  the  rich,  the  poor,  the  fallen  of  all  classes  is  Jesus 
Christ,  the  perfect,  the  Divine  Man.  Welcome  Flis 
Gospel  as  the  answer  of  humanity's  cry,  as  the  opener 
of  heaven  to  penitent  and  believing  sinners  I 

3.  Again,  these  stones  declare  our  faith  in  and  our 
duty  toward  the  aggressive,  the  missionary  side  of  Christ's 
Gospel. 

It  moans  to  conquer  the  world.  It  will  do  it.  This  is 
its  lofty  ambition.  This  is  its  divine  destiny.  In  this 
respect  it  stands  unique  among  the  religions  of  the  world. 
No  form  of  idolatry  ever  aimed  at  universality.  To 
worship  the  god  of  the  grove,  the  fountain,  the  locality, 
was  all  that  was  contemplated  by  heathen  religions. 
The  disciples  of  many  forms  of  superstition  did  not  wish 
them  to  become  universal.  Universality  would  rob 
them  of  the  charm  of  their  sweet  seclusiveness.  They 
were  for  their  "set,"  their  country,  their  race.  They 
were  local,  ethnic,  or  at  most  national.  Judaism  was 
not  aggressively  missionary.  Its  books,  as  Dr.  Hanna 
has  shown,  hinted  at  a  possible  universality.  These 
hints,  however,  were  misunderstood,  disregarded,  dis- 
liked. Christ  found  the  Jews  the  most  narrow  and 
bigoted  of  all  peoples.  The  Jew  was  the  religious  Phari- 
see, despising  all  others  religiously.  The  Greek  was  the 
physical  Pharisee,  despising  all  others  physically.  The 
Roman  was  tolerant,  not  because  of  charity,  but  because 
of  indifference.  Rome  knew  nothing  of  tenderness. 
Christ  gave  the  world  a  new,  a  sublime,  a  divine  idea. 
He  sent  His  apostles  out  to  preach  a  reh'gion  equally 
needed  by  and  equally  adapted  to  all  races,  climes,  and 
centuries.     This  is  the  most  sublime  idea  ever  proclaimed 


VOICEI'LL   STOXES. 


279 


to  tbo  world.  It  is  matchlesp,  peerless,  glorious.  Think 
of  I  ho  amazement  with  which  the  ''  Go  ye  into  all  tho 
world  ;  preach  tho  Gospel  unto  every  creature"  fell  upon 
the  ears  of  the  disciples  !  Their  world  was  a  narrow 
strip  of  land  ;  this  'lew  world  is  the  globe.  Wo  havo 
become  familiar  with  the  idea,  but  a  moment's  reflection 
gives  it  its  marvellous  proportions.  No  philosopher  of 
Greece  or  Rome,  or  of  the  imaginative  East,  ever 
dreamed  of  such  a  thought.  That  one  idea  gives  Christ 
tho  foremost  place  in  the  ranks  of  tho  world's  thinkers. 
Whore  did  He,  if  only  a  Galilean  youth,  get  tho  idea  ? 
Explain  that,  if  you  d  uiy  His  divinity.  Are  you  a 
thinker?  Here  is  a  problenj.  Its  solution  involves 
divinity  in  the  Great  Teacher. 

Away  over  the  hills  of  Judea  and  Samaria  went  tho 
apostles  of  the  cross.  Tho  islands  of  the  blue  il^geaii 
were  stepping-stones  for  the  feet  of  '*  tho  sacramental 
host  of  God's  elect."  Tho  cross  was  their  weapon. 
Hoary  superstitions  tottered  and  tumbled.  Nations  of 
highest  culture  and  nations  of  wildest  barbarism  bowed 
at  Jesus'  feet.  AN'ith  the  cross  they  battered  down  the 
strongest  walls  of  opposition  ;  with  the  cross  they  pointed 
the  way  to  glory  and  God.  They  revolutionized  liter- 
ature, architecture,  religion,  the  world.  Jean  Paul 
Richter  was  right  when  he  said,  **  With  His  pierced 
hands,  Christ  has  lifted  empires  off  their  hinges,  turned 
the  stream  of  centuries  out  of  its  channel,  and  He  still 
governs  the  ages. ' ' 

The  old  spirit  is  in  this  Gospel  still.  It  still  turns  the 
world  upside  down,  because  it  finds  the  world  wrong 
side  up.  It  makes  no  apology  for  declaring  itself.  Too 
often  we  have  spoken  it  apologetically  when  we  ought  to 
have  uttered  it  authoritatively.  The  best  defence  of 
Christianity  is—Christianity.     It  is  its  own  best  evi- 


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280 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM    CRUCIFIED. 


dence.  We  have  too  often  turned  aside  to  debate  with 
unbelievers.  We  have  dignified  contemptible  foes. 
We  have  magnified  pigmies  into  heroes,  dwarfs  into 
giants.  We  have  given  the  devil  too  much  respect ; 
we  owe  him  only  disobedience,  contempt,  and  hate. 
On,  on,  oh  Church  of  God  !  Forward  on  thy  divine 
mission,  until  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  lie  in  joyous 
submission  at  Jesus'  feet !  These  stones  stand  for  this 
spirit.  We  believe  in  aggressive  work.  We  are  not  to 
satisfy  ourselves  by  singing,  ''  Hold  the  fort.''  We  must 
shout,  '*  Storm  the  fort."  An  anti-mission  church  is  an 
anti-Christian  church.  Such  a  cliurch  must  soon  die  ; 
the  sooner  the  better.  I  'charge  you,  my  beloved  Church, 
that  you  never  forget  your  exalted  mission.  If  you  live 
only  for  yourselves  you  shall  die.  Your  grandest  liturgy 
is  in  following  your  Master,  '^  who  went  about  doing 
good."  Yisit  the  fatherless  ;  carry  the  bread  of  life  to 
the  poor  and  sinful  ;  begin  in  your  Jerusalem  ;  go  on  to 
all  Judea  ;  march  into  Samaria  ;  forward  to  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth.  Fail  and  you  die.  Selfishness 
is  death  ;  self-abnegation,  consecration,  Christliness — 
these  are  life,  power,  and  glory.  These  stones  to  coming 
generations  shall  beai*  testimony  to  the  missionary  spirit 
of  this  Church  and  of  Christ's  Gospel.  At  this  blessed 
Christmas-tide  we  sing  again  the  sweet  angelic  song 
which  floated  out  on  the  midnight  air  when  the  Christ 
was  born  :  "  Behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great 
joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people."  '*  Glory  to  God  in 
the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good-will  to  men." 

4.  But,  lastly,  these  stones  declare  our  faith  in  our  dis- 
tinctive organic  order  as  a  body  of  Christians,  as  being 
in  harmony  with  Christ's  Gospel.  / 

If  our  views  be  not  in  harmony  with  Christ's  Gospel 
we  do  not  wish  to  hold  them  ;  we  have  no  other  reason 


VOICEFUL  STONES. 


281 


for  being  Baptists.  But  so  long  as  this  reason  exists  we 
cannot  be  other  than  Baptists.  Wo  hold,  in  harmony 
with  all  the  evangelical  denominations,  the  great  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  We  also  hold  views 
taught  in  the  Word  of  God  which,  in  our  view,  they 
lightly  esteem  or  entirely  ignore.  These  views  are  suffi- 
ciently well  UTiderstood  ;  they  need  not  be  here  specified. 
We  would  not  multiply  or  magnify  the  differences  be- 
tween us  and  our  esteemed  brethren.  We  would  rather 
lessen  the  number.  But  this  we  cannot  do  by  denying 
or  ignoring  these  differences.  We  must  acknowledge 
them  in  a  manly  way  and  in  a  Christly  spirit.  We  grant 
to  others  the  liberty  we  claim  for  ourselves.  We  give 
them  credit  for  the  sincerity  which  we  claim  for  our- 
selves. The  Church  almost  as  a  whole  has  in  a  wonder- 
ful way  come  to  accept  views  which  once  we  almost 
alone  held.  It  is  worse  than  useless  in  union  and  other 
meetings  to  ignore  points  of  difference.  If  men  are 
honest  in  their  denominational  positions,  there  are  differ- 
ences and  they  are  worthy  of  respect.  We  shall  admit 
them  ;  we  shall  respect  them  ;  we  shall  work  with  all 
who  love  Christ ;  and  we  shall  respectfully,  kindly, 
Christianly  differ  from  them  in  so  far  as  we  honestly 
believe  that  they  differ  from  the  teachings  of  Clirist. 
This  is  Protestant,  this  is  Baptist,  this  is  Scripture  doc- 
trine. Here  kindly,  firmly,  lovingly  we  stand.  We 
**  can  do  no  otherwise."  For  myself,  should  I  cease  to 
hold  the  views  touching  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures, 
the  vicarious  atonement  of  Clirist  and  other  doctrines  of 
evangelical  Christianity,  I  should  give  up  my  Christian 
name.  When  I  step  off  the  platform  touching  baptism, 
the  Lord's  Supper,  and  any  distinctively  Baptist  views, 
on  which  I  stood  when  I  received  ordination  as  a  Baptist 
minister,  I  shall  give  up  my  denominational  name  as  a 


i'l 


lb 


ilii  l;i 


iii; 


11;!! 


283 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


Baptist  minister.  I  dhall  relieve  the  denomination  of  all 
responsibility  for  my  acts.  Common  honesty  requires 
that  when  a  minister  has  abandoned  the  views  on  profes- 
sion of  which  he  received  denominational  recognition, 
he  should  no  longer  enjoy  the  emoluments  and  honors 
of  that  denomination.  How  a  man  can  wear  his  Church's 
armor  while  he  is  stabbing  her  to  the  heart  is  more  than 
an  honest  man  can  understand.  Tiio  maligned  politician 
is  above  such  unmanliness.  I  must  say  that  as  the  years 
advance,  I  hold  my  ordination  vows  with  a  firmer  grasp 
and  a  tenderer  love.  I  believe  in  every  drop  of  blood 
in  the  old,  the  blessed  Book,  in  the  old  Gospel  and  in 
the  old  methods  of  winning  men  to  God.  The  Gospel 
has  lost  none  of  its  ancient  power.  It  is  still  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation.  The  churches  in  whoso  pulpits 
it  is  most  faithfully  preached  are  the  churches  whose 
pews  are  best  tilled  with  consecrated  men  and  women. 
This  Church  stands  for  honesty  in  the  pulpit,  loyalty  to 
ordination  vows,  and  submission  to  the  lordship  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

It  must  also  stand  for  loyalty  in  the  pews.  If  the 
Church — the  spiritual  body — gives  up  the  old  Baptist 
faith,  it  ought  to  give  up  this  house.  These  stones 
mean  all  this.  Perhaps  in  the  years  to  come  the  words 
I  now  speak  may  be  quoted.  Let  them  give  no  uncer- 
tain sound  ;  these  stones  stand  for  a  regular  Baptist 
Church.  This  means  much  ;  but  the  stones  mean  even 
more.  No  Baptist  Church  is  worthy  the  name,  it  is  not 
a  regular  Baptist  Church,  except  Christ  be  exalted  above 
all  other  names.  When  Ptolemy  built  the  Pharos  he 
desired  to  perpetuate  his  name.  But  the  architect  cut 
the  king's  name  in  plaster  ;  he  cut  his  own,  Sosfratus, 
in  imperishable  granite.  The  waves  washed  off  the 
plaster ;  the  king's  name  disappeared  ;  then  the  name 


VOICEFUL  STONES. 


283 


the 
ptist 
onea 
ords 
icer- 
tist 
veil 
not 
ore 
he 
cut 
Itus, 
the 
me 


So8tratU8  was  revealed.  When  all  eart.uiy  names  have 
perished  Christ's  will  endure.  Baptism  does  not  make 
a  Baptist  Church.  Some  bodies  baptize  whom  we  utterly 
repudiate.  A  Baptist  Church  is  loyal  to  the  Word  of 
God  ;  it  accepts  the  great  doctrines  of  Christ's  Gospel. 
When  it  gives  up  these  it  is  unworthy  its  name.  So, 
conspicuous  above  all  other  names  you  read  in  letters  of 
stone  on  the  front  of  this  building  :  '*  We  preach  Christ 
crucified."  Paralyzed  be  the  hand  which  would  tear 
down  Christ's  cross,  or  strike  the  crown  from  His  brow  ! 
To-day  we  honor  Him.  These  stones  mean  Jesus  Christ, 
Prophet,  Priest,  and  King,  from  deep  foimdation  to  lofty 
spire.  We  gather  to-day  about  His  cradle  ;  we  stand  in 
awe  and  love  at  His  cross  ;  we  gaze  in  fondest  hope 
upon  His  throne.  We  have  a  better  house  than  taber- 
nacles made  with  hands — a  house  not  made  with  hands. 
Our  watchword  in  life,  our  support  in  death,  and  our 
song  in  heaven  will  be  ^'  Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  cruci- 
fied." This  we  mean  by  these  stones.  Their  purpose 
is  that  of  Joshua's  memorial :  '*  That  all  the  people  of 
the  earth  might  know  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  that  it  is 
mighty  ;  that  ye  might  fear  the  Lord  your  God  for- 
ever." Even  so,  grant,  Thou  crucified  and  glorified 
Jesus  Christ  ! 


.'Ilia 


i«: 


m:u 


XXII. 

THREE  PREREQUISITES   TO  EFFECTIVE 
CHURCH  LIFE   AND   WORK."' 

"  Now  therefore  arise,  O  Lord  God,  into  Thy  resting-place,  Thon, 
and  the  ark  of  Thy  strength  :  let  Thy  priests,  O  Lord  God,  be  clothed 
with  solvation,  and  let  Thy  saints  rejoice  in  goodness."— 2  Chiion. 
6  :  41. 

These  words  form  a  part  of  Solomon's  prayer  at  the 
dedication  of  the  temple.  Never  was  a  king  more  roy- 
ally engaged  than  was  he  when  he  spread  forth  his  hands 
toward  heaven  as  he  **  Kneeled  down  upon  his  knees 
before  all  the  congregation  of  Israel."  It  was  a  great 
day.  The  tribes  of  Israel  came  in  solemn  and  joj'ons 
bands.  The  entire  prayer  of  Solomon — as  recorded  here 
and  in  Ist  Kings,  eighth  chapter — is  a  wonderful  one.  It 
is  a  model,  in  many  more  respects  than  its  brevity,  for 
all  who  lead  the  devotions  of  God's  people.  It  will  well 
repay  careful  study.  It  was  well  that  he  prayed  for  rain 
in  time  of  drought,  for  peace  in  time  of  war,  for  health 
in  time  of  sickness.  But  the  climax  is  reached  in  the 
text ;  this  is  the  crowning  glory  of  the  prayer  and  of  the 
consecrated  house.  Solomon  realized  that  without  the 
presence  of  the  ever-living  God  all  else  was  vain.  Hence 
this  great  petition  :  **  Now  therefore  arise,  O  Lord  God, 
into  Thy  resting-place.  Thou,  and  the  ark  of  Thy  strength : 
let  Thy  priests,  O  Lord  God,  be  clothed  with  salvation, 

*  Preached  at  the  dedication  of  Calvary  Church,  February  3d,  1884, 
the  dedication  having  been  postponed  until  provision  was  made  for 
the  debt,  \^ 


PRKI.KqUISITBS  TO   CHURCH   LIFE  AND   WORK.        285 

and  let  Thy  saints  rejoice  in  goodness.''     The  text  gives 
us  three  prerequisites  to  effective  church  life  and  work. 


THE  FIRST   PREREQUISITE. 

1.  The  first  is  the  presence  of  Qod  in  the  midst  of  His 
people.  During  the  unsettled  condition  of  Israel  the 
symbol  of  God's  presence  was  migratory.  Now  God 
was  to  have  a  fixed  dwelling-place.  Though  the  heaven 
of  heavens  could  not  contain  Him,  still  Ho  graciously 
condescended  to  make  the  temple  His  special  residence. 
There  is  need  still  of  the  presence  of  God  in  His  Church. 
A  church  without  the  life-giving  presence  of  God  is  like 
a  summer  without  the  smell  of  flowers  or  the  song  of 
birds  ;  it  is  like  a  year  without  a  summer  ;  it  is  like  a 
night  without  a  morning,  nothing  but  dampness,  dark- 
ness, death. 

Th'>  Old  Testament  abounds  with  illustrations  of  God's 
willingness  to  abide  with  His  people.  Look  at  Jacob  on 
his  stony  pillow.  Night  gathers  about  Him.  He  is 
weary  ;  he  is  sinful ;  he  is  sad.  He  sleeps  ;  he  dreams. 
The  rough  stones  form  themselves  in  the  visions  of  the 
night  into  a  vast  stairway.  The  messengers  of  God 
ascend  and  descend  on  this  heavenly  ladder.  God  speaks 
to  the  houseless  wanderer.  The  place  becomes  a  Bethel 
— ^the  very  gate  of  heaven.  Listen:  *^  Behold,  I  am 
with  thee,  and  will  keep  thee  in  all  places  whither  thou 
goest."  Now  Jacob's  lonely  path  is  peopled  with  an 
innumerable  host.  Now  his  fears  are  removed,  and  his 
future  assured.  Now  the  land  of  exile  shall  be  a  home. 
If  God  be  for  him,  who  can  be  against  him  ?  Behold 
Joshua  fearing  before  the  task  laid  upon  him.  Who 
may  be  the  successor  of  Moses  ?  What  hands  shall  take 
up  the  burden  which  he  has  laid  down  ?     Jehovah 


286 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


I 


Mil 


speaks  :  '^  Be  strong  and  of  a  good  courage  ;  as  I  was 
with  Moses,  so  shall  I  be  with  tliee  ;  I  will  not  fail  theo 
nor  forsake  thee.  There  shall  not  any  man  be  able  to 
stand  before  thee  all  the  days  of  thy  life."  These  are 
wonderful  words.  Any  man  can  do  marvels  when  God 
gives  him  such  promises  as  these.  Who  but  a  child  of 
God  ever  went  into  the  battle  of  life  with  such  assur- 
ances ?  See  Solomon  overwhelmed  with  his  great  re- 
sponsibility. To  take  great  David's  place  was  a  high 
honor  ;  it  was  also  a  solemn  responsibility.  But  God 
said  :  **  I  will  bo  with  theo  and  build  thee  a  sure  house.'* 
God  kept  His  promise.  The  day  of  dedication  was  the 
proof.  His  glory  filled  the  house.  The  abiding  pres- 
ence of  Christ  was  tho  richest  legacy  which  Ho  left  His 
Church.  It  was  the  hope  of  Paul  and  Silas  when  they 
made  the  old  jail  at  Philippi  vocal  with  their  songs  of 
praise  to  God.  It  cheered  Paul  when  on  his  way  to 
Rome  while  tho  tempestuous  Euroclydon  swept  over  the 
deep.  The  presence  of  God  has  illumined  the  dungeon 
with  the  glory  of  heaven  ;  it  has  made  the  stake  a  throne 
of  more  than  imperial  power.  Think  of  the  glorious 
army  of  martyrs — the  Latimers,  the  Hoopers,  the  Rid- 
leys  !  Think  of  those  who  went  on  weary  feet  through 
the  glens  or  climbed  the  hills  of  Scotland — Donald  Car- 
gill,  Richard  Cameron,  James  Renwick,  and  others  I 
From  the  horrors  of  the  Grass  Market  noble  souls  went 
up  to  glory  and  to  God.  Every  land  has  had  its  martyrs 
for  Jesus.  Every  land  has  had  its  baptism  of  blood. 
Think  of  our  Baptist  brethren  who  have  suffered  even  in 
America  for  the  truth — Obadiah  Holmes,  John  Clark, 
John  Crandall,  and  others  !  Patrick  Henry's  speech  for 
persecuted  Baptists  is  historical.  He  rode  sixty  miles  to 
attend  the  court.  Tho  presence  of  God  transformed 
trial  into  triumph  and  death  into  an  immortal  life. 


PREREQUISITES  TO   CUURCII   LIFE   AND   WORK.        287 


The  Clmrcli  needs  the  living  God  to-day.  O  arm  of 
God,  awake,  awake  !  Bow  down  Thine  ear,  Thou  God 
of  Abraham,  Solomon,  and  Paul  I  Let  the  earth  be 
filled  with  Thy  glory  !  We  read  that,  **  "When  Solomon 
had  made  an  end  of  praying,  the  fire  came  down  from 
heaven  and  consumed  the  burnt-offering  and  the  sacri- 
fices ;  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the  house."  May 
this  be  true  of  this  house  to-day.  There  is  nothing  too 
good  for  God's  house  and  service.  Christ  ought  to  have 
the  best  of  everything.  Could  wo  have  churches  which 
might  surpass  the  majesty  and  splendor  of  Greek  and 
Roman  architecture  in  its  palmiest  days  ;  could  we  have 
the  most  gorgeous  decorations  which  lofty  genius  ever 
designed  and  boundless  wealth  ever  executed  ;  could  we 
have  the  singing  of  angelic  hosts  ;  could  we  have  the 
eloquence  even  of  Gabriel,  all  would  be  too  poor  to  set 
forth  the  glory  of  Jesus.  All  heaven  adores  Him — the 
Child  of  the  manger,  the  Ancient  of  days — the  Son  of 
Mary,  the  Son  of  God.  But  if  we  had  all  these,  and 
had  not  God,  we  should  be  poor  indeed.  1  would  rather 
preach  in  an  open  field,  or  in  a  barn,  with  God,  than  in 
the  most  majestic  cathedral  without  His  presence  and 
power.  Come,  O  Thou  mighty  God,  and  abide  with 
us  !  As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water-brooks,  so 
pant  our  souls  after  Thee,  O  God  ! 


if-i 


THE  SECOND  PREREQUISITE. 

2.  The  text  suggests  the  next  great  need  of  the  Church 
— a  ministry  clothed  with  salvation.  Hebrew  scholars 
tell  us  that  this  should  be,  "  Let  Thy  priests  clothe  with 
salvation."  But  to  clothe  others  they  must  themselves 
be  clothed.  Each  thought  implies  the  other.  We  need 
a  ministry  born  of  God.     Those  who  are  to  tell  others 


288 


CHRIST,    AND    IIIM   CRUCIFIED. 


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tho  way  must  themselves  know  tho  way.  Baptists  above 
all  others  have  insisted  upon  a  regenerated  Church.  This 
is  our  distinguishing  characteristic.  "We  never  can  say, 
as  do  the  Standards  of  one  great  denomination,**  believers 
and  tlieir  children"  are  members  of  the  Church.  We 
shall  seldom  have  unconverted  ministers  if  we  continue 
to  insist  on  a  regenerated  Church.  How  gloriously  our 
fathers  stood  for  this  truth  !  Their  faithfulness  saved  as 
from  many  forms  of  heresy  in  this  country  into  which 
others  fell,  with  their  "  half-way  covenants"  and  other 
compromises  between  the  world  and  the  Church. 

Our  ministers  need  the  highest  possible  culture.  Did 
a  minister  know  as  much  of  medicine,  of  law,  and  of 
science  as  the  foremost  men  in  these  departments  of 
knowledge,  he  could  use  all  his  learning  in  telling  tho 
wondrous  story  of  redemption.  But  most  of  all  he 
w  ould  need  to  be  taught  the  grace  of  God  at  the  feet  of 
Jesus.  Paul  had  many  reasons  for  his  bold  and  intelli- 
gent determination  not  to  know  anything  among  the 
Corinthians  savo  Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified.  He 
knew  the  fondness  of  the  Greeks  for  subtle  and  specula- 
tive disquisitions.  He  knew  that  they  loved  a  finished 
rhetoric  and  a  graceful  elocution.  He  knew  that  they 
would  despise  his  theme.  But  he  was  a  student  of  life 
and  history.  He  was  a  cosmopolitan  man.  He  knew 
that  the  cross  was  the  pivot  of  the  world's  life.  He  had 
built  his  studio  beneath  that  cross.  But  his  best  reason 
lor  the  choice  of  this  theme  was  that  he  had  experienced 
in  his  own  heart  the  power  of  the  crucified  Christ.  Not 
at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  not  among  the  treasures  of  Greek 
literature,  but  at  the  cross  had  he  studied  his  noblest 
lessons.  Almighty  grace  had  subdued  his  soul ;  like  the 
Walls  of  Jericho  its  ramparts  fell  before  the  mighty  power 
of  God.     The  power  which   could  subdue  him  could 


PREREQUI  iTES  TO  CIIURCU   LIFE  AND  WORK.       280 


soften  the  hardest  heart.  Ilis  theme  compels  our  ad- 
miration for  the  clearness  of  his  intellect  as  well  as  for 
the  tenderness  of  his  heart.  Every  minister  must  have 
the  argument  of  a  personal  experience  of  saving  grace. 
This  made  the  healed  Bartimeus  and  the  recovered 
maniac  manifestations  of  divine  power.  They  did  not 
need  arguments  ;  they  were  themselves  arguments. 

No  slavery  is  so  slavish  as  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
by  a  man  who  is  a  stranger  to  its  power  in  his  own  heart. 
For  years  the  great  Chalmers  was  such  a  slave.  His  ser- 
mons were  magnificent  essays,  but  they  had  no  spiritual 
life  and  power.  God  met  him.  From  the  chamber  in 
which  he  bowed  under  a  sense  of  his  sins  and  in  communion 
with  his  God,  he  came  forth  a  new  creature  in  Christ 
Jesus.  The  light  of  heaven  was  in  his  face  ;  a  new 
eloquence  was  on  his  tongue  ;  the  peace  of  God  was  in 
his  heart.  The  love  of  Christ  glowed  in  his  sermons. 
Men  marvelled  at  the  secret  of  his  power.  How  Peter 
could  preach  when  he  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  I 
Once  a  servant-maid  frightened  him.  Now  he  faces 
thousands.  Do  not  be  afraid  to  trust  him.  God  has  en- 
dued, clothed  him  with  power.  For  that  he  waited  at 
Jerusalem.  He  charges  his  hearers  with  the  most  awful 
of  crimes.  The  arrow  pierces  their  hearts.  Slain  sinners 
are  all  about  him.  Mercy  is  proclaimed.  Three  thou- 
sand are  born  in  a  day.  He  preaches  again.  The  sec- 
ond sermon  results  in  the  conversion  of  five  thousand. 
He  preaches  the  third  time  ;  the  place  is  shaken  ;  the 
narrator  abandons  the  count,  but  speaks  of  the  multitude 
that  believed.  Shall  such  scenes  be  witnessed  again  ? 
Who  dare  say  No  ?  Who  shall  limit  the  power  of  the 
Almighty  ?     Oh  for  pentecostal  power  to-day  I 

Ministers  need  also  the  eai'nestness  born  of  intense 
conviction  of  the  truth  of  God's  Word.     Doubt  is  death 


290 


CIIRIHT,    AND   IIIM   CRUCIFIED. 


to  power.  The  apoBtles  could  say,  **  Wo  believe  and 
therefore  speak."  Some  preachers  virtually  say,  **  We 
donbt ;"  and  their  congregations  might  add,  **  and  there- 
fore cannot  preach. ''  No  man  has  a  right  to  preach  his 
doubts.  Let  him  tell  liis  doubts,  if  he  lias  any,  to  God  ; 
let  him  tell  his  truths,  if  he  has  any,  to  men.  It  is  what 
we  know,  not  what  we  do  not  know,  that  we  arc  to 
preach.  If  we  were  to  preach  from  our  ignorance  rather 
than  from  our  knowledge,  some  of  us  would  have  an  in- 
exhaustible theme.  When  men  pick  up  at  second  hand 
theories  of  the  Bible  which  have  been  discarded  by  all 
true  scholars  even  in  the  land  of  their  birth,  and  rush 
into  the  pulpit  with  these  unverified  theories,  they  per- 
vert the  pulpit  and  degrade  the  ministry.  In  no  way 
can  some  men  do  so  large  a  business  with  the  amount  of 
intellectual  capital  possessed  as  by  assailing  established 
opinions  and  cherished  beliefs.  The  destructive  critic 
can  make  a  great  noise  for  a  little  time  with  a  small 
amount  of  shallow  scholarship.  It  is  easy  to  destroy  ; 
it  requires  only  the  lowest  order  of  talent.  A  child  or 
an  idiot  can  destroy  in  an  hour  with  a  knife  or  a  hammer 
more  of  the  results  of  genius  than  a  Raphael  or  an  An- 
gelo  could  produce  in  a  lifetime.  But  a  gallery  of  paint- 
ings or  a  hall  of  statuary  is  not  the  best  place  for  a  child 
or  an  idiot  with  a  knife  or  a  hammer.  It  is  pitiful  to  see 
men  rushing  into  speech  or  print  with  their  undigested 
thinking  and  unverified  theorizing.  We  are  not  afraid 
of  truth  ;  but  we  have  a  right  to  know  that  it  is  truth. 
That  men  may  preach  mightily  they  must  believe  heart- 
ily. Doubt  cuts  the  sinews  of  power.  To  get  a  grip 
on  men  you  must  first  get  a  grip  on  God.  Away  with 
human  nostrums  I  We  want  the  old  Gospel — old  as 
eternitv,  and  new  as  the  last  sunbeam  which  has  kissed 
your  cheek.     Nothing  but  the  bread  of  heaven  can  feed 


PREIIEQIJISITES   TO    CllUlirn    MFR    AND   WORK.        201 


the  fainjsliin^];  soul.  Nothing  hut  the  wiitor  of  lifo  can 
quench  its  hurniiii^  tliirst.  Nothing  hut  tlie  pence  of 
God  can  Btill  tlie  heart's  wild  throhhing.  Nothing  hut 
tlie  hlessed  hahu  of  Gilead  can  heal  the  hleeding  wounds 
of  sin-sick  souls.  Oh  sweet  story  of  Jesus  I  It  is  heaven 
on  earth  to  tell  it. 

Ministers  need  also  the  constraining  power  of  Christ's 
love.  We  need  the  **  hlood  earnestness"  which  Dr. 
Mason  said  was  Dr.  Chalmers's  secret  of  power.  The 
seraphic  Sumnierfield,  just  before  his  death,  speaking  of 
liis  recovery,  said  :  ''  Oh,  it  I  might  be  raised  again, 
how  1  would  preach  !  I  have  taken  a  look  into  eternity. " 
Think  of  Allein,  of  whom  it  is  said,  that  "  he  was  in- 
satiably greedy  for  the  conversion  of  souls  ;"  of  Matthew 
Henry,  who  said,  '*  1  would  think  it  a  grritor  happiness 
to  gain  one  soul  to  Christ,  than  mounta"  id  of  silver  and 
gold  to  myself  ;"  of  Doddridge,  who  oaid,  **  I  long  for 
the  conversion  of  souls  more  than  for  anything  besides. 
I  could  not  only  labor  for  it,  but  die  for  it  with  pleas- 
ure ;"  of  John  Knox,  who  broke  the  stillness  of  the 
night  with  his  thrice-repeated  cry,  *'  O  Lord,  give  me 
Scotland,  or  I  die."  God  gave  him  Scotland.  No 
wonder  that  Queen  Mary  ^^  feared  the  prayers  of  John 
Knox  more  than  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men."  A 
passion  for  souls  gives  a  man  irresistible  power.  The 
Chinese  convert  was  right  when  he  said,  "  We  want  men 
with  hot  hearts  to  tell  us  of  the  love  of  Christ."  Oh, 
friends,  all  about  us  are  souls  in  sin  and  death  ;  we  may 
hear  their  death-knell  sounding.  Men  and  women  there 
are  without  God  and  without  hope— men  and  women 
soon  to  stand  at  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ.  O  God, 
help  us  to  cry  unto  Thee  day  and  night  for  their 
rescue  I  *'  Let  Thy  priests  be  clothed  to-day  with  salva- 
tion I"  .  •         . 


292 


CHRIST,    AND   HIM   CRUCIFIED. 


iWi 


THE   THIRD   PREREQUISITE. 

3.  The  text  suggests  the  next  prerequisite — Church 
members  delighting  in  the  Word  and  work  of  God.  A 
praying  church  is  the  bulwark  of  the  pulpit ;  a  laboring 
church  is  the  right  arm  of  the  pulpit.  A  dead  church 
has  been  the  death  of  many  a  pulpit.  When  Napoleon 
invaded  Egypt,  we  are  told  that  he  encountered  a  force 
protected  by  a  mud  fort.  He  strove  in  vain  to  reduce 
it.  Had  it  been  rock  he  could  have  shivered  it ;  had  it 
been  wood,  ho  could  have  burned  it.  But  it  was  mud. 
As  he  tired  upon  it  its  powers  of  resistance  were  increased 
rather  than  diminished.  A  cold,  dead  church  is  a  mud 
fort  around  the  hearts  of  unconverted  sinners.  Some 
of  you  may  remember  Mr.  Spurgeon's  remarks  about 
dead  churches.  He  says  :  *  *  Have  you  read  *  The  An- 
cient Mariner?'  I  daresay  you  thought  it  one  of  the 
strangest  imaginations  ever  put  together  .  .  .  dead 
men  pulling  the  rope,  dead  men  steering.  But  do  you 
know  that  I  have  lived  to  see  that  time  ?  1  have  seen  a 
dead  man  in  the  pulpit,  a  dead  man  as  deacon,  a  dead 
man  handling  the  plate,  and  dead  men  sitting  to  hear." 
No  doubt  Mr.  Spurgeon  is  right.  Let  us  beware  lest  we 
be  the  dead  men.  Such  a  church  excites  the  contempt 
of  the  world  and  the  merriment  of  hell. 

The  text  teaches  us  what  a  church  should  be.  It 
should  be  holy.  Its  members  are  called  saints.  We  are 
too  apt  to  give  a  few  distinguished  Christians  a  monopoly 
of  the  name.  It  belongs  to  all  who  are  truly  the  Lord's. 
In  that  wonderful  spiritual  ladder — a  ladder  more  glori- 
ous than  that  which  Jacob  saw — let  down  for  us  in  the 
first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  we  see  what 
God  would  have  us  be.  It  comes'f  rom  the  heart  of  God 
to  the  earth.     Its  first  round  from  the  earth  is/brgwe- 


PBEREQUISITES  TO  CHURCH   LIFE  AND   WORK.       293 


It 

i  are 
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ori- 
the 
hat 
od 

6- 


ness.  Its  next  redemption  ,*  its  next  accepted  in  the 
Beloved  ;  its  next  adoption  /  the  next  is  blameless  /  the 
last  is  holy.  Sweet  and  precious  thoughts  chister  about 
this  ascent.  There  is  divine  wisdom  in  the  order.  The 
upper  end  rests  upon  the  e'^'^rnal  purpose  of  God.  Are 
we  aiming  to  be  holy  ?  Do  we  thirst  after  righteous- 
ness ?  It  should  mean  much  that  a  man  is  a  member  of 
Christ's  Church.  Is  the  line  between  the  world  and  the 
Church  deep  and  wide  ?  Do  men  take  knowledge  of 
you,  my  beloved  Church,  that  you  have  been  with  Jesus  'i 
Do  you  show  in  word  and  act  that  you  are  Christ's  ? 
Not  stone  and  wood  alone  would  we  this  day  dedicate  to 
Almighty  God ;  but  ourselves,  body,  soul,  and  spirit, 
living  temples  for  the  living  God. 

Christians  should  rejoice  in  goodness.  This  is  not 
simply  our  privilege  ;  it  is  duty.  We  do  not  bend  as 
slaves  under  the  lash  of  duty  ;  we  stand  erect  as  freemen 
in  "  the  joy  of  the  Lord."  A  sad  Christian  misrepre- 
sents the  religion  of  Jesus.  ReMgion  has  elements  of 
sorrow.  All  deep  life  has.  But  it  has  glittering  heights 
of  joy.  We  may  understand  the  blessed  paradox  of 
Paul.  **  As  sorrowful,  yet  always  rejoicing."  "Re- 
joice evermore,"  he  says  ;  **  and  again  I  say.  Rejoice." 
Christ  was  **  a  Man  of  sorrows,"  yet  He  was  *'  anointed 
with  the  oil  of  gladness."  No  Christian  life  can  be 
strong,  manly,  beautiful,  where  this  joy  is  absent ;  for 
"the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength. "  This  truth 
illustrates  profound  philosophical  principles. 

Something  of  this  joy  tills  our  hearts  on  this  blessed 
morning.  We  see  in  \;his  completed  house  the  result  of 
our  p»^yers,  tears,  and  labors.  A  sense  of  God's  good- 
ness fills  our  hearts.  What  are  we  that  we  should  offer 
after  this  sort  unto  God  ?  I  congratulate  the  trustees. 
Their  faithful  labor  is  worthy  of  all  praise.     I  congratu- 


294 


OHRIST,   AND  HIM  CRUCIFIED. 


late  the  architect.  He  has  achieved  a  great  snccees.  I 
thank  all'  the  contributors  for  what  they  have  laid  on 
God'S  altar.  May  the  glory  of  this  latter  house  be 
greater  than  the  former  I  Here  and  now  we  lay  our- 
selves anew  on  God's  altar,  while  there  goes  up  from 
every  heart  the  prayer,  **  Arise,  O  Lord  God,  into  Thy 
resting-place.  We  beseech  Thee,  send  now  prosperity  ; 
and  to  Thy  name  shall  be  the  glory  forever.     Amen." 


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